b. 1913d. 1972

Margaret Bonds

Margaret Bonds
The first black guest to play with the Chicago Symphony, Margaret Bonds was an accomplished pianist as well as composer and teacher. Photo: Margaret Bonds, photograph by Carl van Vechten, 1956, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Audio

“I, Too” (from “Three Dream Portraits”)
Tyrique McNeal, baritone; Joshua Marzan, piano1:59

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Location

This recording was part of a concert during the American Song Institute 2022, which took place on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Little David, Play on Your Harp
Louise Toppin, soprano; Joshua Marzan, piano1:57

Margaret Bonds (arr.)

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Location

This recording was part of a concert during the American Song Institute 2022, which took place on the campus of the University of Michigan.

“Minstrel Man” (from “Three Dream Portraits”)
Amber Merritt, soprano; Joshua Marzan, piano1:53

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Location

This recording was part of a concert during the American Song Institute 2022, which took place on the campus of the University of Michigan.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Thomas Hampson (baritone) & Vlad Iftinca (piano)5:11

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2011

Date

Minnesota Marine Art Museum

Location

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Samantha Rose Williams, mezzo-soprano; Sara Chiesa, piano4:15

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2021

Date

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Location

This recording was made possible by a grant from the University of Michigan, as part of the "Black Composer Speaks" Project.

The Sea Ghost
Nicole Jenkins, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano1:14

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Frank Dempster Sherman

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Dream Variations” (from “Three Dream Portraits”)
Thalia Moore, soprano; Amelia Hammond, piano2:07

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Minstrel Man” (from “Three Dream Portraits”)
Thalia Moore, soprano; Amelia Hammond, piano2:04

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“I, Too” (from “Three Dream Portraits”)
Thalia Moore, soprano; Amelia Hammond, piano1:50

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Even in the Moment” (from “Four Songs”)
Leberta Lorál, sporano; Jeffrey Sykes, piano3:06

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Feast” (from “Four Songs”)
Leberta Lorál, soprano; Jeffrey Sykes, piano1:24

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“I Know My Mind” (from “Four Songs”)
Leberta Lorál, soprano; Jeffrey Sykes, piano3:04

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“What lips my lips have kissed” (from “Four Songs”)
Leberta Lorál, soprano; Jeffrey Sykes, piano2:58

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Darian Clonts, tenor; Katie Franklin Ledsinger, piano4:27

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

To A Brown Girl, Dead
Daveda Karanas, mezzo-soprano; Michael Ippolito, piano1:57

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Countee Cullen

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

Hyacinth
Daveda Karanas, mezzo-soprano; Michael Ippolito, piano3:02

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

Birth
Frances Young Bennett, soprano; Nina Scolnik, piano0:51

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Langston Hughes

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

No Man Has Seen His Face
Frances Young Bennett, soprano; Nina Scolnik, piano2:19

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Janice Lovoos

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Sit Down Servant” (from “Fire Creek-Freedman Spirituals”)
Jayme Alilaw, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano2:34

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“I’ll Reach to Heaven” (from “Fire Creek-Freedman Spirituals”)
Jayme Alilaw, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano3:55

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Dry Bones” (from “Fire Creek-Freedman Spirituals”)
Jayme Alilaw, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano3:16

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“Lord, I Just Can’t Keep from Cryin’ ” (from “Fire Creek-Freedman Spirituals”)
Jayme Alilaw, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano3:36

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

“You Can Tell the World” (from “Fire Creek-Freedman Spirituals”)
Jayme Alilaw, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano2:07

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

This Little Light of Mine
Nicole Jenkins, soprano; Lorna Griffitt, piano2:22

Margaret Bonds

Composer

Spiritual

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 5:30pm concert ("A Salute to Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

About

Born in Chicago, Margaret Bonds grew up in a musical household, studying music first with her mother, Estelle C. Bonds, who was an organist. Musical life in the city of Chicago was also very rich, and Bonds had the chance to study piano and composition with Florence Price while she was in high school. Bonds earned her BM and MM from Northwestern University and earned her first prize for composition in 1932 (the Wanamaker Prize for her song “Sea Ghost”). In 1933, Bonds performed Price’s piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Also, before leaving Chicago, Bonds opened the Allied Arts Academy.

In 1939, Bonds moved to New York, marrying Lawrence Richardson and attending Juilliard Graduate School the following year. In New York, Bonds (who kept her mother’s maiden name as her own for life) worked to advance black musicians and composers and organized a chamber society dedicated to supporting the work of black composers and musicians.

Bonds’ output consists mainly of vocal music, though she also wrote several large-scale musical theatre works, including Shakespeare in Harlem (1959). Leontyne Price commissioned and recorded several spirituals arranged by Bonds.

–Christie Finn

Related Information

Lieder.net

lieder.net/lieder/get_settings.html?ComposerId=3489

The African American Art Song Alliance

darryltaylor.com/alliance/composers/margaret-bonds

African Diaspora Music Project

africandiasporamusicproject.org/compser/margaret-bonds

University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, & Dance

smtd.umich.edu/black-american-composer-anthology

AfriClassical.com

chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/bonds.html

Dissertation

diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:185122/datastream/PDF/view

NPR

npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2013/03/03/173276882/at-100-composer-margaret-bonds-remains-a-great-exception

Georgetown University Library

library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/margaret-bonds-composer-and-activist

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/a-forgotten-voice-for-civil-rights-rises-in-song-at-georgetown/2017/11/10/c71f66ec-c341-11e7-a441-3a768c8586f1_story.html?utm_term=.010af8373679

Songs

Dream Variation1959 · Three Dream PortraitsMargaret BondsLangston HughesHe’s Got the Whole World in His HandsMargaret BondsSpiritualI, Too1959 · Three Dream PortraitsMargaret BondsLangston HughesMinstrel Man1959 · Three Dream PortraitsMargaret BondsLangston HughesPoème d’Automne1955 · Songs of the SeasonsMargaret BondsLangston HughesSongs of the Seasons1955Margaret BondsLangston HughesThree Dream Portraits1959Margaret BondsLangston HughesStopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening1963Margaret BondsRobert FrostThe Negro Speaks of Rivers1941Margaret BondsLangston HughesTo a Brown Girl, Dead1933Margaret BondsCountee CullenLittle David, Play on Your Harp2009Margaret BondsThe Sea Ghost1932Margaret BondsFrank Dempster ShermanEven in the Moment1965 · Four SongsMargaret BondsEdna St. Vincent MillayFeast1965 · Four SongsMargaret BondsEdna St. Vincent MillayI Know My Mind1965 · Four SongsMargaret BondsEdna St. Vincent MillayWhat My Lips Have Kissed1965 · Four SongsMargaret BondsEdna St. Vincent MillayHyacinth2020 · Six Songs on Poems by Edna St. Vincent MillayMargaret BondsEdna St. Vincent MillayBirth2021Margaret BondsLangston HughesNo Man Has Seen His Face2021 · Pot PourriMargaret BondsJanice LovoosSit Down Servant1946 · Five Creek-Freedman SpiritualsMargaret BondsSpiritualI’ll Reach to Heaven1946 · Five Creek-Freedman SpiritualsMargaret BondsSpiritualDry Bones1946 · Five Creek-Freedman SpiritualsMargaret BondsSpiritualLord, I Just Can’t Keep from Cryin’1946 · Five Creek-Freedman SpiritualsMargaret BondsSpiritualYou Can Tell the World1946 · Five Creek-Freedman SpiritualsMargaret BondsSpiritualThis Little Light of Mine2021Margaret BondsSpiritual

Video

Records

2024

Show Me the Way

Jasmine Barnes, Amy Marcy Beach, Margaret Bonds, Libby Larsen, Florence Price

Buy via Cedille Records

Books

From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music

Helen Walker-Hill

Buy via AmazonRead via Google Books

Sheet Music

An Anthology of African and African Diaspora Songs – 60 Songs

H. Leslie Adams, David N. Baker, Margaret Bonds, Charles Brown, H. T. Burleigh, Valerie Capers, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Arthur Cunningham, Harriette Davison Watkins, William Dawson, Mark Fax, Bruce Forsythe, Antônio Carlos Gomes, Adolphus Hailstork, Jacqueline Hairston, Maud Cuney Hare, Jeraldine Herbison, Jonathan Holland, Sylvia Hollifield, Langston Hughes, J. Rosamond Johnson, Thomas Kerr, Lena McLin, Undine Smith Moore, Andre Myers, Camille Nickerson, Fred Onovwerosuoke, Eurydice Osterman, Robert Owens, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Zenobia Powell Perry, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, Dave Ragland, Nadine Shanti, Carlos Simon, Hale Smith, Irene Britton Smith, Brandon Spencer, Hilbert Stewart, Howard Swanson, George Walker, Aurelia Young
Amazing Grace (H. Leslie Adams)
Christmas Lullaby (H. Leslie Adams)
Sence You Went Away (H. Leslie Adams)
The Heart of a Woman (H. Leslie Adams)
The Alarm Clock (David N. Baker)
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (Margaret Bonds)
Caring (Charles Brown)
Desire (Charles Brown)
Your Eyes So Deep (H. T. Burleigh)
Your Lips Are Wine (H. T. Burleigh)
Autumn (Valerie Capers)
Elëanore (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
The Willow Song (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
Minakesh (Arthur Cunningham)
Stars (Harriette Davison Watkins)
Out in the Fields (William Dawson)
The Refused (Mark Fax)
With Rue My Heart Is Laden (Bruce Forsythe)
Suspiro d’alma (Antônio Carlos Gomes)
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking (Adolphus Hailstork)
Longing (Adolphus Hailstork)
Loveliest of Trees (Adolphus Hailstork)
Dormi, Jesu (Jacqueline Hairston)
Gardé Piti Mulet Là (Maud Cuney Hare)
I’ll Not Forget (Jeraldine Herbison)
Little Elegy (Jonathan Holland)
In Time of Silver Rain (Sylvia Hollifield)
The Founding Fathers (Langston Hughes)
This is My Land (Langston Hughes)
L’il Gal (J. Rosamond Johnson)
Soliloquy (Thomas Kerr)
Amazing Grace (Lena McLin)
The Year’s at the Spring (Lena McLin)
I Am in Doubt (Undine Smith Moore)
I Want to Die While You Love Me (Undine Smith Moore)
For a Poet (Andre Myers)
Chere, Mo Lemmé Toi (Camille Nickerson)
Gué, Gué, Solingaie (Camille Nickerson)
Mshila (Fred Onovwerosuoke)
Entreaty (I Am the Rose of Sharon) (Eurydice Osterman)
Could I but Ride Indefinite (Robert Owens)
Die Nacht (Robert Owens)
From the Dark Tower (Robert Owens)
The Lynching (Robert Owens)
The Secret (Robert Owens)
Madrigal (Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson)
O Children of Men (Zenobia Powell Perry)
I Want to Die While You Love Me (Rosephanye Powell)
Spring (Florence Price)
The Sum (Florence Price)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Dave Ragland)
Mangez, Boulez (Eat, Drink, Be Merry) (Nadine Shanti)
Prayer (Carlos Simon)
Troubled Woman (Hale Smith)
Why Fades a Dream? (Irene Britton Smith)
Dream Variations (Brandon Spencer)
Spring Song (Hilbert Stewart)
One Day (Howard Swanson)
I Went to Heaven (George Walker)
Norris Swamp (Aurelia Young)
36 Songs are for High Voice - Medium to High Voice<br>24 Songs are for Medium - Medium to Low Voice
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints

Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers, Compiled by Willis C. Patterson

H. Leslie Adams, David Baker, Margaret Bonds, Charles Brown, Cecil Cohen, Noel de Costa, Mark Fax, Adolphus C. Hailstork, Eugene Hancock, Thomas Kerr, Jr., Charles Lloyd, Jr., Wendell Logan, Maurice McCall, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Undine Smith Moore, Robert Owens, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Hale Smith, William Grant Still, Howard Swanson, George Walker, Olly Wilson, John Work, Jr.
For You There is No Song (H. Leslie Adams)
Early in the Mornin' (David Baker)
A Good Assassination Should Be Quiet (David Baker)
Status Symbol (David Baker)
Three Dream Portraits: Minstrel Man; Dream Variations; I, Too (Margaret Bonds)
The Barrier (Charles Brown)
Song Without Words (Charles Brown)
Death of an Old Seaman (Cecil Cohen)
Two Songs for Julie Ju (Noel da Costa)
Cassandra's Lullaby (Mark Fax)
Love (Mark Fax)
A Charm at Parting (Adolphus C. Hailstork)
I Loved You (Adolphus C. Hailstork)
Absalom (Eugene Hancock)
Nunc Dimittis (Eugene Hancock)
Riding to Town (Thomas Kerr, Jr.)
Compensation (Charles Lloyd, Jr.)
If There Be Sorrow (Wendell Logan)
Marrow of My Bone (Wendell Logan)
Chanson Triste (Maurice McCall)
Sweet Sorrow (Maurice McCall)
Weary Blues (Dorothy Rudd Moore)
Love Let the Wind Cry...How I Adore Thee (Undine Moore)
Faithful One (Robert Owens)
Genius Child (Robert Owens)
A Child's Grace (Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson)
Melancholy (Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson)
Night (Florence Price)
Song to the Dark Virgin (Florence Price)
Velvet Shoes (Hale Smith)
Grief (William Grant Still)
A Death Song (Howard Swanson)
I Will Lie Down in Autumn (Howard Swanson)
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (Howard Swanson)
Lament (George Walker)
A Red, Red Rose (George Walker)
Wry Fragments (Olly Wilson)
Dancing in the Sun (John Work, Jr.)
Soliloquy (John Work, Jr.)
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints

Art Songs and Spirituals by African-American Women Composers (Vivian Taylor, ed.)

Margaret Bonds, Betty Jackson King, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Undine Smith Moore, Julia Perry, Zenobia Powell Perry, Florence Price
Calvary (Spiritual) (1954) - Betty Jackson King
Come Down Angels (Spiritual) (1978) - Undine Smith Moore
Dry Bones (Spiritual) (1946) - Margaret Bonds
Free At Last (Spiritual) (1951) - Julia Perry
He's Got the Whole World In His Hand (Spiritual) (1963) - Margaret Bonds
I Am in Doubt (1975) - Undine Smith Moore
I'm a Poor Li'l Orphan in This Worl' (Spiritual) (1952) - Julia Perry
In the Springtime (1976) - Betty Jackson King
Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus (Spiritual) (1981) - Undine Smith Moore
It's Me, O Lord (Spiritual) (1988) - Betty Jackson King
Lord, I Just Can't Keep from Cryin' (Spiritual) (1946) - Margaret Bonds
Love Let the Wind Cry… How I Adore Thee (1977) - Undine Smith Moore
My Dream (1935) - Florence B. Price
My Soul's Been Anchored in the Lord (Spiritual) (1937) - Florence B. Price
Night (1946) - Florence B. Price
Song to the Dark Virgin (1926) - Florence B. Price
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (1942) - Margaret Bonds
Three Dream Portraits (1959) - Margaret Bonds
Watch and Pray (Spiritual) (1972) - Undine Smith Moore
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

Margaret Bonds
Rent via Presser

Rediscovering Margaret Bonds: Art Songs, Spirituals, Musical Theater and Popular Songs

Margaret Bonds
Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints