John Littleton - Kumbaya

Topic: Art Song
Encores are a special part of the concert program, when an artist is expected to sing something light or humanizing. African-Americans uniformly are expected to perform a spiritual. If one were, instead, to offer something like Sam Cook’s "You Send Me" that would disappoint their audience by breaking protocol.

The concert spiritual repertoire is a subset limited to those songs recognized by white audiences. The corpus was set by Marion Anderson and Paul Robeson in the 1930s. Very few songs have been added since. The familiar "Kumbaya" can be used as an encore, but not "Come by Here."

John Littleton was born on a plantation in Madison parish in northeastern Louisiana [1] where the population today is more than 77% Black. [2] The African American enlisted after graduating from high school and served during World War II. He stayed in France after the war and entered the Académie Nationale de Musique of Paris for opera training in the middle-1950s. [3] The baritone mastered the roles of Boris Godunov and Faust in operas by Mussorgsky and Gounod. [4]

As a baritone Littleton faced special challenges. As a class, baritones are less likely to attract the followings necessary to generate lucrative opportunities than tenors who have the leads in most operas. In addition, he faced the unique challenges created by Robeson whose resonant baritone voice defined the sound of many spirituals for white Europeans.

Littleton worked the concert circuit and, in 1960, turned to spirituals. [5] Soon after, Mickey Baker moved to France from New York. The Louisville-born African-American sideman had played guitar on sessions for Savoy records. [6] He created Littleman’s arrangement of "Kumbaya" and directed the musicians and singers.

The encore spiritual repertoire is essentially a romantic genre. A French website devoted to Littleton said he:

"was always faithful to his origin and his roots. He never forgot the pain of his ancestor slaves, their joy when they discovered God, this God who had released the people of Israel. The black slaves sang, shouted towards those that liked them." [7]

After Littleton died in Rheims in 1998, Christian Price put together a "JLS ‘Amen’" program in Montréal based on Littleton’s most popular album. [8] It featured the deep-voiced Placide Adombi Yapo Atsé and a choir directed by Christophe Absi. Adombi was from Côte d’Ivoire. [9] Absi was white. The choir included children, one of whom had a dark-colored face.

Performers
Vocal Accompaniment: Chœur Mickey Baker
Instrumental Accompaniment: Orchestre Mickey Baker
Rhythm Accompaniment: piano, cymbal

Credits
"Kumbaya" by Mickey Baker

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: cum-bye-yah with emphasis on first syllable
Pronoun: someone
Format: four-verse song
Line Repetition Pattern: AAAB
Line Form: statement-refrain
Verses: kumabya, singing, praying

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: tune from The Seekers

Basic Structure: repetitions of the four-line melody with increasingly more voices and instruments

Solo Style: simple, unembellished

Solo-Group Dynamics (by repetition):
1. Solo joined by men with deep voices on last line

2. Softer solo with male chorus singing "kumbaya" after he finished, and joining on final line

3. Solo with male and female chorus. On the echo of "kumbaya" the men sang "kum" and the group finished "baya."

4. Solo with chorus singing broad chords of "oh," except when following the established pattern. The last line was sung by all.

Vocal-Orchestra Dynamics: nearly a capella with cymbal on the beats, and piano chords marking the beginnings of phrases. The cymbal may have been augmented by other stringed instruments in later repetitions, and especially in the final iteration.

Notes on Performance
The Littleton video showed an album cover with a dark-skinned choir wearing white robes. Their arms were raised from the elbows and they were holding hands.

JLS "Amen" used the same vocal parts from Littleton’s recording, but employed different instruments. The credits listed a drum set, keyboards, electric bass, guitar, and flute. Everyone wore black slacks and white shirts; the girls added colored scarves. Absi wore a black suit and conducted with a baton. Except for Adombi, who walked about as he sang with a hand-held microphone, everyone stood in place.

Notes on Performers
Littleton’s father was a Baptist pastor and farmer. According to the French Wikipedia, as translated by Google, "The young John starts singing along with his father in the churches. He sings in a soloist and in choirs of gospel." [10] Another French source said he "accompanied his father when he would go in the various small Baptist Churches of the area." [11]

Availability
Album: Spirituals. Editions Studio S.M. 30-377. 1971.

YouTube: uploaded by Sing To God!, 6 June 2016.

JLS "Amen." "Kumbaya." Cathédral de Nicolet, Québec, 5 October 2013. Uploaded to YouTube 2 February 2014.

End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Tallulah, Louisiana."

2. "Tallulah, Louisiana." City-Data website.

3. Richard P. Sevier. "John L. Littleton, Jr., Madison Parish, Louisiana." Ancestry website.

4. French Wikipedia. "John Littleton."

5. Wikipedia, Littleton.

6. Wikipedia. "Mickey Baker."

7. Translation reprinted by Sevier.

8. John Littleton. Amen. Editions Studio S.M. SM 30 M-361. 1970. It did not have "Kumbaya." The album was devoted to songs by Odette Vercruysse, a contemporary Christian composer.

9. Nathalie Zemgbo-Djiezion. "Canada: voyage dans l’univers des patriotes pour la préparation de la victoire de Laurent Gbagbo." Abidjan.net, 18 November 2010.

10. Wikipedia, Littleton.

11. Translation reprinted by Sevier.