Episode 2
Amelia Tilghman the Musical Messenger
Episode 2 Transcript
INTRO
Hey Y’all, and welcome back to classical queens. I’m Jessica Joy and I’m here to introduce you to the Black women composers and musicians in classical music you probably haven’t heard about. Today I’m excited to introduce you to someone I find inspiring; our composer and our guest, two Queens who share commonalities in the way they are apart of and foster a really honest sense of community; our composer is Margaret Bonds, and our guest is Ana Flores. Hi Ana! “Hey Jessles!”
Before we begin learning of both of these lovely humans, I want to let you in on a common trend that I’ve found in my research, something that really connected me to the work. When I began this journey a few years ago, I was looking to understand my experience. To understand what in my life came from being me and what I created or needed to learn, and what was imposed upon my experience, and the experiences of other BIPOC women due to an accepted cultural experience that denys our just existing and being as we are. What I found interesting, and maybe what you have already noticed, is that for almost every Black composer, musician, or vocalist, all were successful not solely because of their talent, but because of the communities that supported their efforts. We’ve seen Black church’s being a cultural safe haven, and that support extended outside of its walls, for those who could, it was a practice. Margaret Bonds whole life from as early as a child, had modeled for her, what support of community looked like. It became such a huge part of her life, that when she lost certain parts of it, she could not continue. This had me thinking back to my beginning career, and when I experienced community. I have been lucky to have certain people, who have often gone out of their way to offer opportunity, they saw my inward self, needing more that my current situation, and didn’t judge where I was at, but gave me moments to learn and grow, though mentorship and understanding. Those moments and the special people that gave me time and opportunity, those are things I wont forget. I also hope I can help them in the future, whenever they are in need. For some time, I thought that was community. But through this research, and living a bit more life, I’ve come to find that community is different. It was something I didn’t experience until I was forced by one of my favorite people, to join a Mariachi. Mariachi sol de Acapulco . It changed not only how I performed, but my understanding of what true camaraderie is. It is the closest I’ve ever been to community. Even though I’m adopted into it, as I have been adopted before, it has become such an important and influential part of my experience. It is also where I met Ana. But before we really get to chat with Ana, lets first get to know our Past Queen- Margaret Bonds.
TERM DROP
Here we are y’all, droppin’ some terms that will help us understand a major set of Margaret Bonds music.
Art Song:The New Harvard Dictionary of Music defines art song as “ A song intended for the concert repertory, as distinct from a folk or popular song. An art song traditionally is a setting of a text of high literary quality and, unlike most folk and popular songs, includes an accompaniment that is specified by the composer rather than improvised or arranged by or for the performer”
Here we see music that is written down, utilizing work by well know literary figures like Shakespeare, Goethe, and such. This style of music was a common practice in Europe by almost every major composer, so naturally, it became a common practice in America as well.
Folk Song:The New Harvard Dictionary of Music defines folk song as “The musical repertory and tradition of communities (particularly rural), as opposed to art music which is the work of musically trained composers it generally develops anonymously, usually among the less traditionally-educated classes, and originally was (and may still be ) transmitted aurally, thereby becoming subject to modification.”
Here we see music that is not written down, that is passed down through communities to younger generations. It can change and vary as the times change and vary. Improvisation, or even changed melodies to lyrics, is not uncommon. The origins of the black idiom could also be related to folk song.
LET’S MEET THIS WEEKS QUEEN
Past Queen- Margaret Bonds- March 3, 1913- April 26, 1972
Born to Dr. Monroe Alpheus Majors and Estella C. Bonds, March 3rd 1913, Margaret bonds began her life with parents who were not only lovers of literatures and music (her mother was a musician who studied at Chicago Musical College) but who offered her a space to appreciate strong matriarchal figures, as her mother and aunts were elementary school teachers who pursued careers and provided income. From early on, options on how one could live life, outside of just the woman in the home, was modeled to Margaret. Seeing working women in the household, had to have been so influential on how Bonds chose to live her life. Added to this, her parents divorced early on in 1917, and her mother was her primary parent, and Dr. Majors became fairly estranged to Bonds.
Being black woman and working outside the home during the early 1900s in Chicago, is a big deal, emotionally especially. Segregation was in full effect. There were race riots in the city in 1919. It was not safe to be a black adult in this city, let alone a child. There is information however, about Bonds childhood. During during this time, Bonds was protected from these events through the church and social groups. More proof added to last weeks information as church as a safe haven.
During Bonds whole childhood, she was surrounded by musical and intellectual greats. A quote from the book From Spirituals to Symphonies states “ Her home often housed musicians in need, and older chicagoans. She recalled her (mothers) Sunday afternoon musicales as one of the few places where aspiring young black students could gather and meet famous creative artists” Among this list are singer- Abbie Mitchell, composer will Marion cook and William Dawson, and poet Langston Hughes. Her father although not around much, was not only a well known doctor whose many life experiences should be shared in another episode, because he wrote a very important piece of primary research called “noted negro women : their triumphs and activities” written in 1893. And he also added to this community, as he moved with many intellectual types. But From both sides of her family, we see such influential and connected people in the black communities of Chicago and beyond. We see real community support, in all avenues of the creative experience, the good and difficult moments too.
From as early as a toddler, Margaret’s musical abilities were obvious and her mother began her on the piano right away. At the age of 5 she then studied with teacher Martha B Andersen, and Ruby Clark. At this same age she also composed her first piano piece, which she entitled “The Marquette Road Blues”. At eight, she began taking from Tom Theodore Taylor at the Coleridge-Taylor music school, where her mother was faculty. She studied with him until she attended Northwestern University where Taylor, William Dawson and Florence Price were her primary teachers. This was around 1929, and bonds was 16.
Now munch was going on during the 1930’s. We must remember that it was the Great Depression, so much loss was experienced in all parts of America. Segregation was still so very prevalent and effected Margarets experience as she went to college. Northwestern didn’t even have housing for black students, so education meant a lot of excess travel. But through this quote, this education no matter how difficult to attain, molded her.
“Price’s example and encouragement played an important part in Margaret’s development, and Dawson’s expertise in both European forms and jazz may have provided the groundwork for her style”
Now as I’ve mentioned, we are in the midst of the Great Depression, and to that end, the Bonds home sheltered many people, including Florence Price and her daughters, who needed shelter from a troubled marriage. A quote from Margaret states “My mother was a true woman of God, she lived the Sermon on the Mount. Her loaves and fish fed a multitude of pianists, singes, violinists, and composers.”
Margaret also left us with information on what it was like to have Florence Price living under their family roof. “ When Florence had something that she had to do, every black musician in Chicago who could write was either scratching mistakes, or copying, or extracting, or doing something to get Florence’s work out.” Yallll— can we just sit in this moment and just enjoy the beauty of what became possible because of community… Idon know about you but this left me shook.
In 1932 at 19, Bonds won her first composition competition. She kept winning competitions which aided the funding of her Masters degree at Northwestern. To add onto a list of amazing accomplishments, Florence Price (first black person to have a premier like this) premiered her Symphony in E minor with the Chicago symphony, and Margaret was the first Black soloist with the Chicago Symphony within that same concert. Reviews from the Chicago Tribune, Herald and Exami8ner, and the Chicago Defender all spoke so highly of Bonds. And thus, her career began amidst the Great Depression, in Chicago.
Traits that were cultivated in her childhood, continued to be an extremely important part of how Bond built her own musical community. Where great musicians and writers weren’t just casual acquaintances, but true close friends whose contributions and talents were really seen, beyond their work, but to who they were as people. It was in 1936 where Margret met Langston Hughes at the home of a mutual friend. Now this wasn’t Margarets first experience with Langston Hughes. In some of her writings she explains her first experience, through his work The Negro speaks of rivers.
“I was in this prejudiced university, this terribly prejudiced place…. I was looking in the basement of the Evanston Public Library where they had the poetry. I came in contact with this wonderful poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and I’m sure it helped my feelings of security. Because in that poem he tells how great the black man is. And if I had any misgivings, which I would have to have – here you are in a setup where the restaurants won’t serve you and you’re going to college, you’re sacrificing, trying to get through school – and I know that poem helped save me.”
Bonds and Hughes became the best of friends, writing to each other as they lived in different cities, and offering mental, emotional, and career support as often as they could. It is partly because of Langston Hughes, that Bonds eventually moved to New York to be at the center of the Harlem Renaissance and be near him. In New York, she worked that grind. Taking every job that came her way to make living there possible. It was here where she wrote a great deal of her Art Songs, and gained entry into the Tin Pan Alley music scene. There was much popular and movie music written by Bonds.
In 1939 Margaret Bonds (through Langston Hughes) met a probation officer named Lawrence Richardson, and married him the summer of 1940, and in 1946 Margaret had her daughter Djane, who she named after the Juilliard teacher, she had been working with during her stay in New York. It was this year that she decided to perform even more, compose even more, and really leaned into all aspects of her family, friend, and work life. Honestly the list of her accomplishments,compositions, and experiences is too great to leave here. So I want to end by discussing her time spent in the composition of African American Art music, and the importance of seeing the difference between African American Art Music, and European Art music.
You will not be surprised to know that Langston and Bonds collaborated on many art songs. She utilized his poetry, and set music influenced by the black idiom to his text. One of these pieces is The Negro Speaks of Rivers. In an article written by Willis Patterson entitled “The African-american art song: A musical means for special teaching and learning” in this article it posits “ we possess what is not just an aesthetically beautiful and entertaining indigenous song form but one that is also a teaching tool of unique potential for instilling the lessons of our history.” To begin to better understand that statement, we must look to the differences of European and African American Art song forms.
European Art song: Topic: based on musician of nature, mythology, “the ultimate things of life” seen through the intellectual culture. Text: taken from famous authors Hugo, Shaeksphere. Music: was through composed (which means it had different music for each verse) and often utilized other common European song forms.
African American Art Song: Topic: based on the here and now, the struggles of life, reality. Text: reflects lives and conditions of African American literary figures. Form: the form mirrors the trials, much like character pieces. You will often see the use of blues, jazz, ballades, gospel solo forms, and also some European song forms.
With this understanding in mind it really answers a question I had about why so many Black composers and performers were writing and performing art songs. It honestly offered me an appreciation for that genre of work, as I haven’t every really connected or understood art song. Looking at African American Art song in this light offers yet another window into the america’s cultural past. Now The Negro Speaks of rivers- as the poem traces the historical association of African tribes and their american descendants with such major rivers as the Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. It offers a connection- that through everything that was torn apart, we are yet connected. We are not alone.
In 1967 Langston Hugues died. Known through her letters to have had struggles with depression, and anxiety, the support system that became so integral to Bonds life disappeared. That same year, Margaret Bonds decided to leave New York and her little family to take a job in Los Angeles. Her depression worsened. In 1972 after a musical function, Bonds was dropped off at home by a famous musician. That was the last person to see her. She died of a heart attack at age 59. Some say her depression after Langstons death, eventually lead to her death. But whatever the case, she left an important legacy of brilliantly written music and taught many of what collaborative community really looks like.
What Can We Learn From Our Current Queen?
Now in this weeks segment, what we can learn from our queen, we are taking a cue from our special guest, Current Queen, Ana Flores.
Now Ana is a really great vihuela player, her voice connects with audiences in this way that just draws them in. Offers them a place of understanding, a moment of safety of feeling. Girls got magic powers, I swear! It’s ridiculous. So, It is not surprising that this skill is also apparent in her professional work as a Loan Officer. But Ana is not like any other Loan Officer I’ve ever met. She uses her education, her position in the LatinX community of Idaho to build that community. To work to right the disparity that black and brown people face when trying to own property. She educates, coaches, and lets you know that no matter your situation, ownership is possible. It’s huge, her work. She helps build futures. Outside of her work, y’all have to go out on the town with Ana. The first time I was able to do this my mind was blown! Girl is famous. No matter where you go with Ana, not only will you meet really cool people, always get a round or two of free tequila shots sent to the table, but you can see how loved and appreciated she is. It’s a really cool. I’ve learned so much just by watching her work. To me, she is a modern day Margaret Bond, a builder of great connection, and she cares so much.
(Conversation with Ana Flores unscripted)
Ana, I want to thank you for being here, and showing your meaningful perspective on community. I also want to say thank you for always teaching me. You live so honestly, give so much, and are so kind, and you were one of those people that taught me that I can do that again. Life happened, and I couldn’t give, I couldn’t be open for such a long time. But seeing you for the past, 6? Years, it really has changed how I move, and that matters so much to me. So, thank you.
CONCLUSION
Well, yall, thank you joining us this week. If any of you live in Idaho and want help purchasing property, or want to see what’s possible for you, get ahold of Ana, I’ll make sure to leave her business information on Instagram. If you have any suggestions on black women in classical music you would like to know more about, drop me a DM on my instagram @ClassicalQueens. I would love to hear from you all, and understand the ways you have been able to implement information such as this into your spaces.
As you know, for now this is a bi-weekly podcast, and if you like it, you should subscribe, and leave a five star rating and a review! Till next time.
See ya, Classical Queen’s!
