III. Troubled Water

Margaret Allison Bonds (1913 - 1972), an African American composer and pianist, was born and raised in Chicago's vibrant African American community, where she began music lessons with her mother, Estella Bonds. Mentored by esteemed figures like Florence Price and William Dawson, Bonds excelled academically and musically. Bonds earned BM and MM degrees in piano and composition from Northwestern University in 1933 and 1934, respectively. In 1933, Bonds performed John Alden Carpenter’s Concertino with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, making her the first black soloist to perform with a major symphony in the United States at age 20. Bonds collaborated closely with Langston Hughes, drawing inspiration from his poetry for her compositions. Committed to social justice, she founded The Margaret Bonds Chamber Music Society and advocated for black composers. Following Price's footsteps, Bonds frequently juxtaposed African American idioms with classical gestures in works like "The Ballad of the Brown King" and "Montgomery Variations." Her compositional peak came in the 1960s, marked by a commitment to social justice themes, exemplified by her composition "Credo," completed before her passing in April 1972. 

Spiritual Suite for Piano is a three-movement piano suite composed in the 1950s, blending classical, jazz, and African American folk traditions. The third movement, Troubled Water, is based on the spiritual "Wade in the Water" known for its dual meanings as a coded spiritual used by slaves escaping via the Underground Railroad. Troubled Water, published as a piano solo in 1967, is structured as a rondo, with sections alternating between various modes. The syncopated ostinato in the opening section accompanies the “Wade in the Water” melody, followed by the introduction of thematic material from the refrain in the B section. Bonds's use of impressionistic flourishes and rhythmic articulation in the opening theme's return, along with virtuosic displays building into a climatic, rhythmic coda that vividly captures the turbulent nature of troubled waters.