BBC Philharmonic - Anthracite Fields

Grit courses through Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields, her Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio for choir and ensemble that serves as a musical memorial to American miners and their struggle.

Wolfe grew up in coal-rich Pennsylvania – with vast deposits of anthracite, coal’s purest form – and saw firsthand how intertwined the means of fuelling a nation were with human toil and sacrifice. Through extensive research and oral histories, Wolfe weaves together stories of labour, loss, and resistance – stories that could just as easily come from the Yorkshire pits or the South Lancashire coalfields, where mining was not just a job but away of life.

We hear testimonies from men risking serious injury, communities remembering the fallen, the fiery words of union leader John M. Lewis, and a few voices daring to hope. Wolfe’s writing is equal parts fluid and direct, drawing from her established sources — chorales, rock music, minimalism — as she looks unsparingly at the past.

Death and danger, community and power, all delivered with Wolfe’s trademark forthrightness.

During the concert, you’ll also have the chance to hear the world premiere of Laura Bowler’s SCALLOP, plus a performance of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Jalopeño Blues performed by the BBC Singers and conducted by Ellie Slorach.

This symphonic arrangement of Anthracite Fields is a BBC Philharmonic Orchestra commission, in partnership with the Louisville Orchestra.

Laura Bowler’s SCALLOP is a BBC Philharmonic Orchestra commission. Please note, the world premiere of Laura Bowler’s piece has moved from its previously scheduled date of 29 November.

*Content warning: This performance includes references to suicide and death, which some audience members may find distressing.