Margaret Bonds: Dry Bones spiritual

Soprano Marti Newland performs Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) arrangement of the Afro-American Spiritual, "Dry Bones" live in a concert given by the chamber group, MELODEON on 6/9/13 at Church of the Epiphany, NYC. At the piano is Artis Wodehouse.

Bonds' approach to spiritual arrangements incorporates the jazz idiom. In "Dry Bones", the piano leads in telling the Old Testament story of restoration from the book of Ezekiel.

Bonds graduated from Juilliard and Northwestern University. A frequent collaborator with her teacher Florence Price and poet Langston Hughes, Bonds composed over 200 songs, over a dozen choral works, and composed for film, including Gone With the Wind. She was an active pianist throughout her lifetime, performing solo recitals (Town Hall) and with the Chicago and New York City Symphony Orchestras.