NEW FROM LIBANA!
May We Know The Way (2025, Single)
A powerful new chant from Libana
Written by Susan Robbins (Libana's Artistic Director)
Lyric adaptations by Marytha Paffrath
Collectively arranged by Libana
Lisa Bosley, Allison Coleman, Marytha Paffrath, Susan Robbins; Clarinet (Lisa Bosley), Piano (Susan Robbins)
At this critical point in our national and global landscape, Libana's deeply layered chant journey invokes the guiding wisdom and transformative power of the sacred feminine to accompany the personal and collective metamorphosis from unclarity to empowered action.
COVER ART: Labyrinth (from the centre of the Still Point Goddess) by Sally Blake (Australia), Ink and pen drawing
Recorded and edited by John Weston, Futura Production (Roslindale,MA) ~ Mixed and mastered by Alan Mattes, Blue Room Audio (Newton, MA)
Available from Libana!
Libana's new single ~ GAIA NOW!
With pulsing harmonies and passionate conviction, this new composition by Libana's Artistic Director Susan Robbins gives voice to the intertwining web of life and elemental connection we all share with our Mother Earth. In this time of ecological disruption and climate change, Gaia Now beseeches us to commit our heart and spirit to protecting our planetary home.
In powerful collaboration with other accomplished Boston area musical colleagues-- singers, instrumentalists, and climate activists-- Libana's newest recording creates a compassionate, heart driven call to action.
SINGERS:
Allison Coleman, Anne Goodwin, Caryl Beth Thomas, Cindy Mapes, Ellen Epstein, Jamie Jaffe, Linda Gritz, Lisa Bosley, Marytha Paffrath, Natasha Olchanski, Pauli Katz, Susan Robbins
VIOLIN / VIOLA: Carlough Faulker-Carroll
PIANO: Susan Robbins
COVER ART: Under The Sun, Leslie B. Grigsby (Delaware)
9" sculpture: Glass seed beads and thread, worked in peyote stitch over wooden core
GAIA NOW is also available world wide on spotify, youtube, itunes, amazon and most international music sites.
LIVE ROOTS ~ The Early Years (2023)
NOW AVAILABLE from LIBANA!
We are excited to announce the release of this remastered compilation of Libana's first two commercial live concert cassette recordings from the early 1980's! Long before the term "world music" was ever conceived of, and years before the internet connected us to everyone and everywhere, Libana first shared exhilarating songs from women's communities around the world, played fiery instrumental international folk melodies, and wove Balkan line-dances up and down the aisles through our audiences as we sang. The youthful, dynamic, exuberant power of our large group sound is a sonic reflection of that inspired, pioneering, powerfully feminist era . . . Click here to download a copy!
Cover art: Charlotte Miller (former longtime Libana member, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia)
WELCOME!
LIBANA
GLOBAL MUSIC CONNECTING CULTURES
"World Class! . . . a globe-circling sound . . . The music brings universal understanding across borders." -- The Boston Globe (MA)
Internationally renowned world music & dance ensemble Libana illuminates the creativity, vision and spirit of women worldwide. Riveting, transformational and soul stirring, Libana takes audiences on a musical journey reflecting the universal human experience uniting us all.
From ancient traditions to contemporary creations, from the political to the spiritual, Libana’s global repertoire covers a vast musical spectrum expressed with stunning close a cappella vocals and an impressive palette of instruments including oud, charango, saz, guitar, hammered dulcimer, panpipes, accordion, dumbek, djembe, frame drum, dholak, tapan, clarinet and double bass.
Interweaving music, dance and story from divergent cultures of the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South America and Europe, Libana’s artistry inspires audiences with wonder at the beauty, breadth and wisdom of our world’s cultural diversity and common humanity.
"Seven women from New England, all with an expansive view of world music, come to town with a collection of acoustic instruments that you may need a dictionary to keep track of . . . If Mars had a musical tradition, they’d probably be on top of that as well." -- Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)