Marikina Christian Integrated School - Kumbaya

Topic: Instrumental Versions - Handbells
The musical instrument closest to handbells is the gamelan. In Java and Bali, members of a village strike hollow bronze vessels of different sizes. Each person in the group is assigned one kettle gong that he or she plays in layered, rhythmic music.

Similarly, one member of the handbell ensemble at Trinity Lutheran in Tinley Park, Illinois, likened her experiences to playing "a team sport. You only have a couple of notes. It’s not like playing in a band where you have to play every note." [1]

Gamelan ensembles developed during the Majapahit Empire [2] that flourished between 1293 and 1500. [3] Soon after, the Javanese established a trading depot on Manila Bay, and the musical idea spread with them. [4]

Luzon island had been involved with trade for centuries with the Chinese. After Muslim traders arrived, the economic web expanded. [5] The bronze vessels used in the southern Philippines for kulintang ensembles were similar to those in Sunda. [6]

Young children in the Manilla suburb of Marikina used handbells in a similar manner with "Kumbaya" in a program for parents in 2013. They rang bells while a recording played that featured a marimba-sounding melody and a stick rhythm that probably also included a synthesizer.

Bells of a given tone and color were given to two children who generally rang together, but there were gaps in the bell playing. The accompaniment compensated for the fact the four-year-olds didn’t yet have a concept of playing a role in a group melody, but introduced them to the experience of communal music without a penalty for failing to ring on cue.

The recording began with just the rhythm. The boys immediately started bending their knees, while the girls rolled their hands over each other as they stepped from side to side.

When they sang one verse of "Kumbaya," the children raised their arms in a circle over their heads while they sang the first "kumbaya." On "Lord" they brought their hands together in a prayer position and lowered them to their chests. On the second "kumbaya" they moved their parallel hands up and down in front of them.

A short interlude followed when the boys moved their shoulders up and down while the girls returned to stepping and rolling their hands. They repeated the "kumbaya" verse and gestures before reaching down for the bells at their feet on the floor of the stage.

The expectations place on these children were very different from the ones levied on members of the Montclair, New Jersey, youth choir. [7] There the natural egocentrism of the young was encouraged when the youngest were given solos. In Marikina, the children, male and female, always acted as a group. Even the differently tuned bells were given to more than one person.

The Protestant school acknowledged their high levels of energy by allowing the children to move about in the opening section. The Presbyterian children were expected to stand still.

Children’s minds and bodies are still developing. Biological changes, like those in basal metabolism rates, are universal. [8] The way they are manifested is governed by cultural norms. This interaction of culture and species is also true of psychological traits like egocentrism, but early socialization makes them appear less uniform across cultural boundaries.

Thus, the African-American Presbyterians emphasized individualism and disciplined behavior, while the Philippine members of Christ’s Beloved Community encouraged group activity that allowed physical movement. Their performance ended with all the children shaking their bells until the accompaniment ended.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: 7 girls, 5 boys
Vocal Director: not visible
Instrumental Accompaniment: recording
Rhythm Accompaniment: recording

Credits
None given

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: kumbaya

Vocabulary
Pronoun: none
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none

Basic Form: one-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: AA
Ending: none
Unique Features: none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: verse-interlude
Singing Style: one syllable to one note, unison

Notes on Performance
Occasion: program for parents
Location: stage
Microphones: none

Clothing: boys and girls were dressed alike in dark slacks and white tee-shirts with the school logo.

Notes on Movement
The children stood in a single line, with boys and girls mixed in no particular order. They shook the bells several times during their interval in the music. The bells faced down and were moved about 45 degrees. They did not wear gloves.

Notes on Audience
It applauded at the end.

Notes on Performers
The Marikina valley was claimed as a hacienda by the Jesuits in 1630. They used local laborers, supplemented by Chinese settlers. It became an industrial center when shoemaking factories were introduced in 1887. Workers flooded the area transforming the Roman Catholic stronghold into a cosmopolitan center. [9]

The Marikina Christian Integrated School is run by Raul Caguin. His brother Ed moved to California in 1985, and was converted in 1988. After he joined the Community Bible Church in Vallejo, he returned to the Philippines as an evangelist. He and Raul organized a local branch of the California Pentecostal church [10] that operates the school. [11]

Availability
YouTube: "Pre-Kinder (Kumbaya sa saliw ng bells)" uploaded by Lorieane Catubag on 21 March 2013.

End Notes
1. Michelle Ketter. Interviewed by Donna Vickroy. "Handbell Choir Rings in Trinity’s Anniversary." Southtown Star [Tinley Park, Illinois]. 18 October 2009. 7. Trinity Lutheran was discussed in the post for 13 December 2018.

2. The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia. Bulletin for National Museum of Canada April 1961. 2. Cited by Donald A. Lentz. The Gamelan Music of Java and Bali. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1965. 5. Recited by Wikipedia. "Gamelan." Traditionally the groups were all male or all female.

3. Wikipedia. "Majapahit."
4. Wikipedia. "Manila."
5. Wikipedia, Manila.
6. Wikipedia. "Kulintang."

7. Trinity Presbyterian of Montclair, New Jersey was discussed in the last post dated 30 December 2018.

8. The importance of high energy and basal metabolism rates was discussed in the post for 25 July 2018.

9. "The Shoe Capital of the Philippines." Marikina city website.
10. "Redeemer Bible Church."
11. "BCI-CCS City Campus." BCI Marikina website.