Margaret Bonds
Encyclopedia
Margaret Allison Bonds was an American
composer
and pianist
. One of the first black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States, she is best remembered today for her frequent collaborations with Langston Hughes
.
, Bonds grew up in a home visited by many of the leading black intellectuals of the era; among houseguests were soprano Abbie Mitchell
and composers Florence Price
and Will Marion Cook
. Bonds showed an early aptitude for composition, writing her first work, Marquette Street Blues, at the age of five. Her first study in music
came when she took piano lessons from her mother. While still in school, she studied composition with Price and with William Dawson
. Bonds worked as an accompanist for dances and singers in various shows and supper clubs around Chicago; she also copied music parts for other composers, and became involved with the National Association of Negro Musicians.
Upon her high school graduation, Bonds became one of the few black students at Northwestern University
. Her song "Sea-Ghost" won a Wanamaker Award in 1932; two years later, at the age of 21, she left Northwestern with a bachelor's
and master's degree
, both in music. She opened a short-lived school, the Allied Arts Academy, at which she taught art, music, and ballet
. She performed as a pianist with numerous local organizations, appearing in 1933 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
and performing Florence Price's piano concerto with the Women's Symphony Orchestra of Chicago the following year. In 1939 she moved to New York City
; there, she edited music for a living and collaborated on several popular songs. In 1940 Bonds married a probation officer
named Lawrence Richardson; the couple later had a daughter.
While living in New York, Bonds began further study in piano and composition at the Juilliard School
; she also began to study composition privately with Roy Harris
and Emerson Harper. She also attempted to gain lessons with Nadia Boulanger
, who upon looking at her work said that she needed no further study and refused to teach her. The work that Bonds showed Boulanger was The Negro Speaks of Rivers
, a setting for voice and piano of a poem by Langston Hughes
. Hughes and Bonds were great friends, and she set much of his work to music.
Bonds continued to take in piano students after her marriage, and while she was still a student. She performed, too, gaining work with major orchestras and forming a piano duo with Gerald Cook. At the same time, she formed the Margaret Bonds Chamber Society, a group of black musicians which performed mainly the work of black classical composers. Bonds lived in Harlem
, and worked on many music projects in the neighborhood. She helped to establish a Cultural Community Center, and served as the minister of music at a church in the area.
Among Bonds' works from the 1950s is The Ballad of the Brown King, a large-scale work originally for voice and piano, but later revised for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. To a text by Hughes, the work tells the story of the Three Wise Men, focusing primarily on Balthazar
, the so-called "brown king". A large work in nine movements, the piece combines elements of various black musical traditions, such as jazz
, blues
, calypso
, and spirituals. The piece was first performed in December 1954 in New York. Bonds was writing other works during this period of her career, as well; her Three Dream Portraits for voice and piano, again setting Hughes' poetry, were published in 1959; her D Minor Mass for chorus and organ was first performed in the same year.
As an outgrowth of her compositions for voice, Bonds later became active in the theater, serving as music director for numerous productions and writing two ballet
s. She also wrote several music-theater works, including Shakespeare in Harlem to a libretto
by Hughes; this premiered in 1959. In 1965, at the time of the Freedom March on Montgomery, Alabama
, Bonds wrote Montgomery Variations for orchestra, dedicating it to Martin Luther King, Jr.
. Two years later, she moved to Los Angeles
, teaching music at the Los Angeles Inner City Institute and at the Inner City Cultural Center. Zubin Mehta
and the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra premiered her Credo for chorus and orchestra in 1972; Bonds died unexpectedly a few months later, shortly after her 59th birthday.
s, has been recorded on various labels, mostly on compilation albums of music by black composers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. One of the first black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States, she is best remembered today for her frequent collaborations with Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
.
Life
A native of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Bonds grew up in a home visited by many of the leading black intellectuals of the era; among houseguests were soprano Abbie Mitchell
Abbie Mitchell
Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell , also billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer who sang the role of "Clara" in the premier production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1935....
and composers Florence Price
Florence Price
- Career :Florence Price is considered the first black woman in the United States to be recognized as a symphonic composer. Even though her training was steeped in European tradition, Price’s music consists of mostly the American idiom and reveals her Southern roots...
and Will Marion Cook
Will Marion Cook
William Mercer Cook , better known as Will Marion Cook, was an African American composer and violinist from the United States. Cook was a student of Antonín Dvořák and performed for King George V among others...
. Bonds showed an early aptitude for composition, writing her first work, Marquette Street Blues, at the age of five. Her first study in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
came when she took piano lessons from her mother. While still in school, she studied composition with Price and with William Dawson
William Dawson
-Politicians:* William Johnston Dawson , U.S. Representative from North Carolina* William L. Dawson , U.S. Representative from Illinois* William M. O. Dawson, Governor of West Virginia...
. Bonds worked as an accompanist for dances and singers in various shows and supper clubs around Chicago; she also copied music parts for other composers, and became involved with the National Association of Negro Musicians.
Upon her high school graduation, Bonds became one of the few black students at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. Her song "Sea-Ghost" won a Wanamaker Award in 1932; two years later, at the age of 21, she left Northwestern with a bachelor's
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
, both in music. She opened a short-lived school, the Allied Arts Academy, at which she taught art, music, and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. She performed as a pianist with numerous local organizations, appearing in 1933 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
and performing Florence Price's piano concerto with the Women's Symphony Orchestra of Chicago the following year. In 1939 she moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; there, she edited music for a living and collaborated on several popular songs. In 1940 Bonds married a probation officer
Probation officer
Parole officers and probation officers play a role in criminal justice systems by supervising offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to non-custodial sanctions such as community service...
named Lawrence Richardson; the couple later had a daughter.
While living in New York, Bonds began further study in piano and composition at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
; she also began to study composition privately with Roy Harris
Roy Harris
Roy Ellsworth Harris , was an American composer. He wrote much music on American subjects, becoming best known for his Symphony No...
and Emerson Harper. She also attempted to gain lessons with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
, who upon looking at her work said that she needed no further study and refused to teach her. The work that Bonds showed Boulanger was The Negro Speaks of Rivers
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is a poem by American writer Langston Hughes.-Composition and publication history:Langston Hughes wrote the poem on an envelope while traveling by train to Mexico as he crossed the Mississippi River to St. Louis. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was first published in The...
, a setting for voice and piano of a poem by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
. Hughes and Bonds were great friends, and she set much of his work to music.
Bonds continued to take in piano students after her marriage, and while she was still a student. She performed, too, gaining work with major orchestras and forming a piano duo with Gerald Cook. At the same time, she formed the Margaret Bonds Chamber Society, a group of black musicians which performed mainly the work of black classical composers. Bonds lived in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, and worked on many music projects in the neighborhood. She helped to establish a Cultural Community Center, and served as the minister of music at a church in the area.
Among Bonds' works from the 1950s is The Ballad of the Brown King, a large-scale work originally for voice and piano, but later revised for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. To a text by Hughes, the work tells the story of the Three Wise Men, focusing primarily on Balthazar
Balthazar
Balthazar may refer to:- Traditional and religious uses :* A name commonly attributed to one of the Biblical Magi * An alternate form of the Babylonian king Belshazzar, mentioned in the Book of Daniel...
, the so-called "brown king". A large work in nine movements, the piece combines elements of various black musical traditions, such as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, and spirituals. The piece was first performed in December 1954 in New York. Bonds was writing other works during this period of her career, as well; her Three Dream Portraits for voice and piano, again setting Hughes' poetry, were published in 1959; her D Minor Mass for chorus and organ was first performed in the same year.
As an outgrowth of her compositions for voice, Bonds later became active in the theater, serving as music director for numerous productions and writing two ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
s. She also wrote several music-theater works, including Shakespeare in Harlem to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Hughes; this premiered in 1959. In 1965, at the time of the Freedom March on Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Bonds wrote Montgomery Variations for orchestra, dedicating it to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
. Two years later, she moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, teaching music at the Los Angeles Inner City Institute and at the Inner City Cultural Center. Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
and the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra premiered her Credo for chorus and orchestra in 1972; Bonds died unexpectedly a few months later, shortly after her 59th birthday.
Major works
- The Negro Speaks of RiversThe Negro Speaks of Rivers"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is a poem by American writer Langston Hughes.-Composition and publication history:Langston Hughes wrote the poem on an envelope while traveling by train to Mexico as he crossed the Mississippi River to St. Louis. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was first published in The...
; voice and piano (published 1942) - The Ballad of the Brown King; chorus, soloists, and orchestra (1954)
- Three Dream Portraits; voice and piano (1959)
- Mass in D-Minor, chorus and organ (1959)
- Shakespeare in Harlem, music-theater work (1959)
- Montgomery Variations; orchestra (1965)
- Credo; chorus and orchestra (1972)
Recordings
Some of Bonds' music, mainly piano pieces and art songArt song
An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the genre of such songs....
s, has been recorded on various labels, mostly on compilation albums of music by black composers.