Electric Music by Anna Rubin

Anna Rubin's music is fluid, expressive and lyrical. She uses traditional instruments, baroque instruments and new electronic and computer tools to fashion her unique works. Embracing themes of social justice, she works in the intersection between word and sound, with melody and harmonies of unusual color and provenance. This CD, which brings together several significant works, all employing electronics, spans nearly two decades of work and includes award-winning compositions from her first to more recent compositions. The haunting story of her mother as portrayed in Family Stories: Sophie, Sally, is innovative in its use of theatrical devices and unique sound processing. Created with Laurie Hollander, the work incorporates issues such as lynching and racism into a haunting collage of word and sound.

Landmines deals with the challenging issue of this uniquely modern weapon within a weave of text and electric cello virtuosity.
In Stolen Gold she uses the uniquely expressive flexibility of the baroque oboe to create a modern masterpiece for the reed instru-ment. Her skill in manipulating the voice to create a virtually new instrument is evident in Crying the Laughing and Golden; and in Remembering, Rubin combines her love of the Hebrew liturgy with melismatic melody and electronic wizardry. With her works performed on four continents, Anna Rubin has established a unique reputation of innovation and superb craftsmanship.

Anna Rubin’s music is propelled by her love of the speaking and singing voice as well as environmental and political issues. She has composed in a variety of musical genres including chamber, choral, wind and orchestral ensembles as well as electronic music for stage, video and dance. Composing for Baroque and Korean instruments has also been one of her interests.