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) [text: poetry of H. Hesse]
Wind Trio, flute, clarinet and bassoon (1977)
A Clearing in the Woods, incidental music, piano, flute, tape (1979) [for a play by Arthur Laurents]
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) [text from "The Book of Naturalists"]
Sono I & II, soprano, flute, clarinets, alto sax, trombone and percussion (1981-82) [text: Liv Ullmann]
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 (1985) [for "Subway Track"]
Streamline, blues band (1985) [written for and performed by Leroy Jenkins' Sting]
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) [poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
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) [poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
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) [choreography by David Alan Harris]
It Came to Me in a Dream, flute, alto flute, guitar, piano and baritone (1990) [in counterpoint with "Ash Wednesday," T.S. Eliot]
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 (collaborative improv)(1991) [poetry: T. Davis] [choreog: D.A. Harris] * *
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, dancer (1994)[Thulani Davis] * *
Woman Without Adornment, piano and reciter (or chamber ensemble) (1994/95) [poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
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) [poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
Embrace the Universe, mezzo-sopr, viola & piano, w/orchestra and chorus (2001) [text: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]
Meditations: Upriver Sea Islands from The Translator and Womb of Buddha, reciter & ensemble (2001)[poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
Piano Plus, digital medium (2002)
Meditations: Kundun and The Womb of Buddha, reciter and pian (2002) [poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
Glove Quartet (2002) +
Toy Rings (2002) +
Only/Solimente, vibraphone (2003 - 04)
Meditations: Abandon All Hope of Fruition, reciter and piano (2004) [poetry: Thulani Davis] * *
Hell's Gate (2004) +
Debabelized Brook (2004) +
A Set of Three, soprano and piano (2005) [text: e.e. cummings]
My fuchsia is small, like me ..., piano (2006)
TreeSing, bass clarinet and marimba, with video processing (2007)
In and Out of Love, piano (2010) [after "Liaisons" & "Send in the Clowns" by Stephen Sondheim]
after sunrise, clarinets and percussion (2011)
altrove/elsewhere, violin and piano/toy piano (2012)
** 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 (1985) [for "Subway Track"]
Bone, Burned, Abandon/Creak, music with dance (Collaborative improvisation) (1990) [choreography by David Alan Harris]
Almost Tadzio/Overbite Alarm, Music with Dance (collaborative improv)(1991) [poetry: T. Davis] [choreog: D.A. Harris] * *
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-sopr, viola & piano, w/orchestra and chorus (2001) [text: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]
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) [written for and performed by Leroy Jenkins' Sting]
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)
after sunrise, clarinets and percussion (2011)
altrove/elsewhere, violin and piano/toy piano (2012)
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)
In and Out of Love, piano (2010) [after "Liaisons" & "Send in the Clowns" by Stephen Sondheim]
Vocal
Lost, flute, horn, mezzo-soprano, viola and double bass (1976) [text: poetry of H. Hesse]
Sono I & II, soprano, flute, clarinets, alto sax, trombone and percussion (1981-82) [text: Liv Ullmann]
It Came to Me in a Dream, flute, alto flute, guitar, piano and baritone (1990) [in counterpoint with "Ash Wednesday," T.S. Eliot]
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, soprano and piano (2005) [text: e.e. cummings]
- in time of daffodils
- if up's the word
- let it go
Incidental/Film
A Clearing in the Woods, incidental music, piano, flute, tape (1979) [for a play by Arthur Laurents]
Electronic
"I Think We Are Small Enough", electronic tape (1979) [text from "The Book of Naturalists"]
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) [poetry: Thulani Davis]
A Set of Five, chamber ensemble (1989) [poetry: Thulani Davis]
Almost Tadzio/Overbite Alarm, Music with Dance (collaborative improv)(1991) [poetry: T. Davis] [choreog: D.A. Harris]
Baobab 4, fl, cl, alto sax, tmb, acoustic & elec gtr, bass, 2 pf, balafon, reciter, 3 women's voices, dancer (1994) [poetry: T. Davis]
Woman Without Adornment, piano and reciter (or chamber ensemble) (1994/95) [poetry: Thulani Davis]
Passages and Outtakes, chamber ensemble (2000) [poetry: Thulani Davis]
Meditations: Upriver Sea Islands from The Translator and Womb of Buddha, reciter & ensemble (2001)[poetry: Thulani Davis]
Meditations: Kundun and The Womb of Buddha, reciter and pian (2002) [poetry: Thulani Davis]
Meditations: Abandon All Hope of Fruition, reciter and piano (2004) [poetry: Thulani Davis]
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)
baj (2007) [improvisation for piano, flute and guitar]
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 . . . contact Bernadette Speach: here
Speach @ Wikipedia
Speach @ American Music Center
Speach @ Answers.com
Speach @ Brooklyn Arts Council
Speach @ ClassicsToday
Speach @ Create Culture
Speach @ Facebook
Speach @ The Flea Theater
Speach @ Latitude 45
Speach @ Library of Library
Speach @ LinkedIn
Speach @ Mode Bulletin
Speach @ Mode Records
Speach @ Music of Now Marathon
Speach @ The New York Times
Speach @ Sheer Pluck
Publisher
Speach @ Kallisti Music
Streaming Audio
Speach @ Kallisti Music
Speach @ last.fm
Speach @ Rhapsody.com
Recordings
Speach @ Composer's website
Speach @ Amazon.com
Speach @ ArkivMusic
Speach @ CDemusic
Speach @ CD Universe
Speach @ Discogs
Speach @ DRAM Online
Speach @ Forced Exposure
Speach @ itunes
Speach @ Mode Records - Without Borders Reflections Dualities
Video
Speach @ YouTube
Speach @ Google Video
Speach @ Vimeo
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