The Revival Band - Kumbaya

Topic: Seminal Influences - Imitation
Individuals and groups often learned "Kumbaya" from Joan Baez or The Seekers without being influenced by the way each sang it. After all, if one didn’t have Baez’s vocal range, all one could do was sing the words and melody. The same held for The Seekers if one was not part of a vocal group.

The Seekers’ version was distinguished by the three men repeating the last line during the pause between verses sung by Judith Durham. Durham often sang "Lord" in the third line on a high pitch, and always used only one note in the last line. In addition she went high on the final "yah" of "kumbaya." [1]

Baez used the minor melody in the second line every time, while the Seekers only used it with the kumbaya verse. She sometimes ornamented "bye" in the third line, went higher on the minor line in the later repetitions in 1962, and also went high on the final "yah." [2]

The Revival Band performed The Seekers’ version at their tenth anniversary concert in Budapest in 1994. They are the only group I’ve observed on YouTube who sang only The Seekers’ version with no bits borrowed from Baez.

Two men played guitars and a third played string bass while a woman sang the lead part. The video camera did not pick up the men as well as the woman, so it was hard to tell if they copied the introduction or played something less ambitious. They did repeat the final line as an interverse interlude.

The woman sang the verses in the same order The Seekers used in their 1993 concerts. The

She always sang the final Lord on one note and sang the word on a higher note in the third lines. Her second line became more minor with each repetition.

The group’s only divergence from The Seekers was tempo. They performed it faster.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: female
Vocal Group: three men
Instrumental Accompaniment: two guitars
Rhythm Accompaniment: string bass

Credits
None given.

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom BYE yah
Verses: kumbaya, praying, crying, singing

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

Basic Form: three-verse song framed by repetitions of kumbaya

Verse Repetition Pattern: AxxxAA
Ending: repeated last verse
Unique Features: none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: fast; last line slow

Basic Structure: strophic repetition

Singing Style: dominant female soloist with men singing some lines with her.

Notes on Performance
Occasion: tenth anniversary concert, 1994.

Location: Kispesti Vigadó, a community center in Budapest

Microphones: she held a hand mike; floor mikes were set in front of the men near their mouths, not their instruments.

Clothing: the woman wore a long denim skirt, white blouse, and narrow black scarf; she had long brown hair. The men wore light colored slacks and shirt-sleeved white shirts without ties.

Notes on Movement
They stood several feet apart from one another and looked at the audience. One man bent his knees to keep time and the women used her left hand to mark time in the last two iterations of kumbaya when the tempo was faster.

Notes on Audience
Applause at the end.

Notes on Performers
I could find nothing on the group or the person who uploaded the video, since both names were common.

The other songs uploaded from the 1994 concerts had been recorded by artists like Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Carter Family. Béla Várkonyi also had created play lists for The Seekers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

If the group began performing in 1984, they had then spent their entire lives under the communist rule of János Kádár. He had introduced some liberal reforms after the suppression of the 1956 revolt. Living standards were better in Hungary than elsewhere in eastern Europe. The economy began to deteriorate after they began performing, and was in recession by the end of communist rule in 1991. At the time of their concert, the country was still suffering from austerity measures imposed by the neo-liberal government. [3]

Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Béla Várkonyi on 30 August 2013.

End Notes
1. Joan Baez’s version was described in the post for 9 October 2017.

2. The Seekers’ version was described in entries posted 29 January 2018, 31 January 2018, and 2 February 2018.

3. Wikipedia. "Hungary."