The Long LineThe Long Line Explore Nine Centuries of Music Margaret Bonds

Margaret Bonds

American composer and pianist

Margaret Allison Bonds (March 3, 1913 – April 26, 1972) was an American composer, pianist, arranger, and teacher. One of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States, she is best remembered today for her popular arrangements of African American spirituals and frequent collaborations with Langston Hughes. She was the first African American woman to perform with the all-White and all-male Chicago Symphony Orchestra, one of the first African American women to have her music broadcast on European radio, the first African American woman to have her music performed widely in Africa, only the second African American woman in classical music to be elected to full membership in ASCAP, and the first woman, Black or white, to win three awards from ASCAP.

Read more about this composer on Wikipedia.

Works

The Long LineThe Long Line
  • Credo
  • Credo: I. I Believe in God
  • Credo: II. Especially Do I Believe in the Negro Race
  • Credo: III. I Believe in the Pride of Race
  • Credo: IV. I Believe in the Devil
  • Credo: V. I Believe in the Prince of Peace
  • Credo: VI. I Believe in Liberty
  • Credo: VII. I Believe in Patience
  • Hold On
  • Joy
  • Montgomery Variations
  • Montgomery Variations: 1. Decision
  • Montgomery Variations: 2. Prayer Meeting
  • Montgomery Variations: 3. March
  • Montgomery Variations: 4. Dawn in Dixie
  • Montgomery Variations: 5. One Sunday in the South
  • Montgomery Variations: 6. Lament
  • Montgomery Variations: 7. Benediction
  • Simon Bore the Cross
  • Simon Bore the Cross: I. Prelude
  • Simon Bore the Cross: II. I Find No Fault
  • Simon Bore the Cross: III. The Trial
  • Simon Bore the Cross: IV. Who Is That Man?
  • Simon Bore the Cross: V. Don't You Know, Mary?
  • Simon Bore the Cross: VI. Walkin' to Calvary
  • Simon Bore the Cross: VII. The Crucifixion
  • Simon Bore the Cross: VIII. Postlude: Resurrection
  • Songs of the Seasons
  • Songs of the Seasons: Poème d'Automne
  • Songs of the Seasons: Summer Storm
  • Songs of the Seasons: Winter Moon
  • Songs of the Seasons: Young Love in Spring
  • Spiritual Suite
  • Spiritual Suite: I. The Valley of the Bones
  • Spiritual Suite: II. The Bells
  • Spiritual Suite: III. Troubled Water
  • The Ballad of the Brown King
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: I. Of the Three Wise Men
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: II. They Brought Fine Gifts
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: III. Sing Alleluia
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: IV. Mary Had a Little Baby
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: IX. Alleluia
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: V. Now When Jesus Was Born
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: VI. Could He Have Been an Ethiope?
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: VII. Oh, Sing of the King Who Was Tall and Brown
  • The Ballad of the Brown King: VIII. That Was a Christmas Long Ago
  • The Negro Speaks of Rivers
  • Three Dream Portraits
  • Three Dream Portraits: No. 1. Minstrel Man
  • Three Dream Portraits: No. 2. Dream Variation
  • Three Dream Portraits: No. 3. I, Too
  • To a Brown Girl Dead
  • Troubled Water
  • Troubled Waters
  • You Can Tell the World