Anthracite Fields runs about one hour. It combines elements of
folk and
classical music. Its libretto contains various oral histories, speeches, interviews, advertisements, and other texts from the history of the region. The piece consists of five movements: ::This movement honors those who died in mining accidents in Pennsylvania from 1869 to 1916. Wolfe intended to sing the names of victims but was alarmed by the amount. She decided to shorten the list by only including those with the first name "John" then a last name with one syllable. ::This movement is a tribute to the
breaker boys: boys who were working in Pennsylvania mines and removed coal from
coal breakers. The movement uses
cowbell and
bicycle pedals to portray the sound of coal falling into the breakers and uses the rhythm to give more of a "
rock feel" to the piece. ::In this movement, Julia Wolfe uses a speech by
John L. Lewis who fought for safe working conditions for these miners. ::This movement was created and inspired by an interview conducted with Barbara Powell, the daughter and granddaughter of miners. In an interview, she stated, “We all had gardens” and began listing flower names. ::The words used in this movement were taken from a coal-powered railroad ad; coal during the 20th century was a fuel source for the nation, and this is the movement's theme. The movement ends with the story of
Phoebe Snow, a historical railway advertising character, traveling to Buffalo while her "gown stays white from morn till night" – a quote from the railway company's advertising campaign. ==Reception==