Bernadette Speach (1948- )
Bernadette Speach
was born on the first day of 1948 in Syracuse, New
York. She received her Ph.D. in Music Composition from
SUNY-Buffalo where she studied with Morton Feldman and Lejaren Hiller.
A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Composers Fellowship
in 1992, Speach was later a Music Composition Fellow through the New
York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship program in 1998-99. In 2001-02,
she was the Composer in Residence at the Electronic Studios of CUNY
Brooklyn’s Conservatory of Music. In addition to her composing, she
serves as administrator, fundraiser and educator at institutions
including the New School University, CUNY—Brooklyn’s Conservatory of
Music and The Kitchen. As a pianist, she has performs with her husband
Jeffrey Schanzer as the Schanzer/Speach Duo across the United States,
Puerto Rico and Europe. According to Daniel Buckley, "Speach
is part of a new breed of composers whose
largely-tonal and appealing music merges jazz and classical streams
with moving power. Recent works showcase her profound gift for
melody, color and mood, as well as her ability to project with prickly
intensity".COMPOSITIONS Speach Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
Lost, flute, horn, mezzo-soprano, viola and double bass (1976)
Wind Trio, flute, clarinet and bassoon (1977)
A Clearing in the Woods, incidental music, piano, flute, tape (1979)
Ode to Thelonius ( in three movements), fl, alto fl, ob, English hn, tpt, hn, va, vc, prepared pf and perc (1978-79)
"I Think We Are Small Enough", electronic tape (1979)
Sono I & II, soprano, flute, clarinets, alto sax, trombone and percussion (1981-82)
des Sondages, movements for piano (1981-82)
Untitled, piano (1982)
A Set of Two, cello (1982)
Moto, Trombone, piano and percussion (1982)
Pentamenta (in Five Movements), string quartet (1982)
Echange, guitar, piano and percussionist (1982)
Onde, flute and percussion (1983)
Quatri, percussion quartet (1983)
Trajet, trombone and percussion (1983)
Pensees I, II & III, guitar (1983)
Between the Lines, violin, piano and percussion (1984)
Gertrude, musical theater (1984)
Light Rail (music/theater), for subway track (1985)
Streamline, blues band (1985)
To Tango or Not, piano (1986)
Sonata, piano (1986)
Spero, guitar (1986)
Shattered Glass, percussion solo (1986)
Two in the Morning (1986) +
Telepathy Suite, Chamber Ensemble (1986-87; 20 piece ensemble, 1988) * *
Inside Out, piano (1987)
les ondes pour quatre, string quartet (1988)
Phill's Phault (1988) +
Boppin' Again, chamber/jazz ensemble (1989; 10 piece ensemble, revised 1991)
a page upon which..., piano (1989)
A Set of Five, Chamber Ensemble (1989) * *
Blue (1989) +
Within, piano and orchestra (1990)
9/8/89, digital sampler and tape (1990)
Bone, Burned, Abandon/Creak, music with dance (Collaborative improvisation) (1990)
It Came to Me in a Dream, flute, alto flute, guitar, piano and baritone (1990)
Resoundings, piano 4-hands (1990)
and so it is ..., piano (1990)
3-1/2 (1990) +
It's Your Turn (1990) +
Sound Crowds (1990) +
Chosen Voices, toy piano and prepared guitar (1991)
Trio des trois I, violin, piano and percussion (1991)
Trio des trois II, flute, harp and viola (1991)
Almost Tadzio/Overbite Alarm, Music with Dance (1991) * *
Trio des trois III, piano, viola and cello (1992)
Walking Again, piano (1992)
Walking Again, piano, flute, bass and traps (1993)
Complaints, speaker, flute, bass, vibraphone and traps (1993)
Avanzando, bass clarinet, piano, marimba, vibraphone and glockenspiel (1993)
Angels in the Snow, piano (1993)
at the same time (1993) +
Baobab 4, fl, cl, alto sax, tmb, acoustic & elec gtr, bass, 2 pf, balafon, reciter, 3 women's voices and dancer (1994) * *
Woman Without Adornment, piano and reciter (1994) * *
When It Rains, Llueve, piano (1995)
From Death Row, This Is Mumia Abu-Jamal, piano, 3 percussionists and tape (1996)
Parallel Windows - Unframed, piano and orchestra (1996)
Outside In (1996) +
Anne, 2 sopranos, baritone, string quartet and clarinet (1998)
Le Donne, chamber ensemble (1998)
Viola, viola and piano (1999)
Lago (1999) +
Your Friend, Susan, 2 pianos and reciter (2000)
Passages and Outtakes, Chamber Ensemble (2000) * *
Embrace the Universe, soloists: mezzo-soprano, viola and piano w/orchestra and chorus (2001)
Piano Plus, digital medium (2002)
Glove Quartet (2002) +
Toy Rings (2002) +
Only/Solimente, vibraphone (2003 - 04)
Meditations: Abandon All Hope of Fruition, Reciter and Piano (2004) * *
Hell's Gate (2004) +
Debabelized Brook (2004) +
A Set of Three (in time of daffodils; if up's the word; let it go), soprano and piano (2005)
My fuchsia is small, like me ..., piano (2006)
TreeSing, bass clarinet and marimba, with video processing (2007)
** Poetry/Music Collaborations With Poet Thulani Davis
+ Improvisations for Piano and Guitar, conceived and performed by the Schanzer/Speach Duo
WORKS BY GENRE Speach Links ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Gertrude, musical theater (1984)
Light Rail (music/theater), for subway track (1985)
Bone, Burned, Abandon/Creak, music with dance (Collaborative improvisation) (1990)
Large Ensemble
Ode to Thelonius ( in three movements), fl, alto fl, ob, English hn, tpt, hn, va, vc, prepared pf and perc (1978-79)
Boppin' Again, chamber/jazz ensemble (1989; 10 piece ensemble, revised 1991)
Le Donne, chamber ensemble (1998)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Within, piano and orchestra (1990)
Parallel Windows - Unframed, piano and orchestra (1996)
Chorus w/Orchestra
Embrace the Universe, mezzo-soprano, viola and piano w/orchestra and chorus (2001)
Chamber
Wind Trio, flute, clarinet and bassoon (1977)
Moto, Trombone, piano and percussion (1982)
Pentamenta (in Five Movements), string quartet (1982)
Echange, guitar, piano and percussionist (1982)
Onde, flute and percussion (1983)
Quatri, percussion quartet (1983)
Trajet, trombone and percussion (1983)
Between the Lines, violin, piano and percussion (1984)
Streamline, blues band (1985)
les ondes pour quatre, string quartet (1988)
Chosen Voices, toy piano and prepared guitar (1991)
Trio des trois I, violin, piano and percussion (1991)
Trio des trois II, flute, harp and viola (1991)
Trio des trois III, piano, viola and cello (1992)
Walking Again, piano, flute, bass and traps (1993)
Complaints, speaker, flute, bass, vibraphone and traps (1993)
Avanzando, bass clarinet, piano, marimba, vibraphone and glockenspiel (1993)
From Death Row, This Is Mumia Abu-Jamal, piano, 3 percussionists and tape (1996)
Viola, viola and piano (1999)
Your Friend, Susan, 2 pianos and reciter (2000)
TreeSing, bass clarinet and marimba, with video processing (2007)
Solo Instrument
A Set of Two, cello (1982)
Pensees I, II & III, guitar (1983)
Spero, guitar (1986)
Shattered Glass, percussion solo (1986)
Only/Solimente, vibraphone (2003-04)
Piano
des Sondages, movements for piano (1981-82)
Untitled, piano (1982)
To Tango or Not, piano (1986)
Sonata, piano (1986)
Inside Out, piano (1987)
a page upon which..., piano (1989)
Resoundings, piano 4-hands (1990)
and so it is ..., piano (1990)
Walking Again, piano (1992)
Angels in the Snow, piano (1993)
When It Rains, Llueve, piano (1995)
My fuchsia is small, like me ..., piano (2006)
Vocal
Lost, flute, horn, mezzo-soprano, viola and double bass (1976)
Sono I & II, soprano, flute, clarinets, alto sax, trombone and percussion (1981-82)
It Came to Me in a Dream, flute, alto flute, guitar, piano and baritone (1990)
Complaints, speaker, flute, bass, vibraphone and traps (1993)
Anne, 2 sopranos, baritone, string quartet and clarinet (1998)
Your Friend, Susan, 2 pianos and reciter (2000)
A Set of Three (in time of daffodils; if up's the word; let it go), soprano and piano (2005)
Incidental/Film
A Clearing in the Woods, incidental music, piano, flute, tape (1979)
Electronic
"I Think We Are Small Enough", electronic tape (1979)
9/8/89, digital sampler and tape (1990)
From Death Row, This Is Mumia Abu-Jamal, piano, 3 percussionists and tape (1996)
Piano Plus, digital medium (2002)
Poetry/Music Collaborations With Poet Thulani Davis
Telepathy Suite, Chamber Ensemble (1986-87; 20 piece ensemble, 1988)
A Set of Five, Chamber Ensemble (1989)
Almost Tadzio/Overbite Alarm, Music with Dance (1991)
Baobab 4, fl, cl, alto sax, tmb, acoustic & elec gtr, bass, 2 pf, balafon, reciter, 3 women's voices and dancer (1994)
Woman Without Adornment, piano and reciter (1994)
Passages and Outtakes, Chamber Ensemble (2000)
Meditations: Abandon All Hope of Fruition, Reciter and Piano (2004)
Improvisations for Piano and Guitar, conceived and performed by the Schanzer/Speach Duo
Two in the Morning (1986)
Phill's Phault (1988)
Blue (1989)
3-1/2 (1990)
It's Your Turn (1990)
Sound Crowds (1990)
at the same time (1993)
Outside In (1996)
Lago (1999)
Glove Quartet (2002)
Toy Rings (2002)
Hell's Gate (2004)
Debabelized Brook (2004)
SPEACH LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
The Composer as Instrumentalist (Allen Kosinn, The New York Times)
An Old Hand Guides New Music Venue (Joseph Dalton, Times Union)
The Right Two Notes (Kyle Gann, The Village Voice)
Composer's website
Speach @ Wikipedia
Speach @ Brooklyn Arts Council
Speach @ Classical Archives
Speach @ The Film Makers' Cooperative
Speach @ The Flea Theater
Speach @ Kallisti Music
Speach @ Latitude 45
Speach @ Library of Library
Speach @ Mode Bulletin
Speach @ Mode Records
Speach @ NationMaster
Speach @ The New York Times
Streaming Audio
[none at the moment]
Recordings
Speach @ ArkivMusic here & here
Speach @ CDemusic
Speach @ Forced Exposure
Speach @ Mode Records - Without Borders Reflections Dualities
Speach @ YouTube
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