African American Church Hymnals - Kum Ba Yah

Topic: Religious Uses - Hymnals
African Americans included "Kumbaya" in hymnals before whites did. The National Baptist Convention published it in its 1977 hymnal. A rump group within The United Methodist Church issued a songbook for Blacks in 1981 to counteract the "racial exclusivity" of the denomination’s 1963 hymnal. [1]

The two collections served different purposes, and emphasized different forms of religious music. The Methodist book was a supplement to an official hymnal, and was created to provide a resource for Black church members and educate whites about African-American music. The editors could assume users had access to the larger collection.

Songs of Zion was divided into four sections, with essays on the history of each musical form. The first, representing close to 30% of the contents, was old hymns and gospel songs written between the Civil War and the emergence of modern gospel music in the early 1930s. It included hymns by Isaac Watts, and religious songs by people like Fanny Crosby, Philip Bliss, and William Bradbury. Seven were by the African-American composer Albert Tindley.

Modern gospel music by people like Thomas Dorsey, Andre Crouch, James Cleveland, and Clara War represented about 13% of the collection. A bit more, 19% of the songs, were included for the specific needs of services. "Amazing Grace" was included in this section.

The remaining songs, nearly 40%, were traditional spirituals. It might have been the largest denominational collection since the National Baptist Convention published Spirituals Triumphant Old and New in 1927. [2]

The New National Baptist Hymnal was more conservative than that of the Methodists and reflected the underlying emphasis of the convention on the priesthood of all believers and the autonomy of local congregations. There was some historic order in the way songs were presented, but no stated classification that would indicate how they should be utilized. The music was followed by spoken scriptural readings, calls to worship, and benedictions needed for a service.

Most of the songs it held in common with the Methodists were the older hymns and gospel songs, some 60% of the UMC collection. The Baptists used 45% of the modern gospel songs, and 30% of what the Methodists called "special occasion" music. The editors recognized only 23% of the spirituals.

Both editorial groups included "Kumbaya" as a spiritual, and made small modifications to the standard published version. The Baptists changed it from 3/4 to 4/4 time. The Methodists added a verse "Someone needs you" that was later included in the denomination’s revised hymnal discussed in the post for 14 February 2019.

Musically, the Baptists assumed unison singing by a congregation accompanied by a piano. The Methodists provided two-part harmony and guitar chords, but no bass clef line to guide a pianist.

Performers
Baptist
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: unison
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Methodist
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: two parts
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar chords
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Credits
Baptist
African (Angola)

Methodist
Traditional

Notes on Lyrics
Baptist
Language: English
Pronunciation: no notes
Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none

Methodist
Language: English
Pronunciation: no final g’s on cryin’, singin’, prayin’
Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying, needs you
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: five-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: needs you verse

Notes on Music
Baptist
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: not indicated
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar Chords: none
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final Lord
Harmony: none

Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: piano plays melody and four-part chords at the beginnings of measures and mid-line phrases

Methodist
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: slow, with feeling
Key Signature: no sharps or flats
Guitar Chords: C F Dm/F G⁷
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final Lord
Harmony: parallel thirds in treble clef

Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: chords at the beginning of every measure and at the beginnings of the second phrases of first and third lines, and every note of the second and fourth lines

Notes on Performers
The National Baptist Convention was organized by freedmen excluded from white organizations in Alabama in 1880. It merged with other Baptist groups in 1895, and is now the largest African-American Baptist meeting. [3]

William McClain, the man who spearheaded the movement for an African-American song collection within the United Methodist Church, was from Gasden, Alabama, and educated at Clark University. He earned his advanced theology degrees from the Methodist seminary at Boston University. [4]

Judge Jefferson Cleveland was one of the songbook’s editors. He was from upland Georgia near the Savannah River, and earned his music degrees from Clark, Illinois Wesleyan, and Boston University. [5] He wrote all the essays on African-American music history and practice included in the collection.

The other editor, Verolga Nix, was raised in Philadelphia, where she taught music in the public schools. Her church career began when she played organ in her father’s church when she was sixteen-years-old. She later served as minister of music in Baptist and AME churches. In 1990, she founded the Institute for the Preservation of African American Music.

Availability
Book: National Baptist Convention. "Kum Ba Yah." The New National Baptist Hymnal. Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1977. 506.

Book: The United Methodist Church. "Kum Ba Ya, My Lord." Songs of Zion. Edited by J. Jefferson Cleveland and Verolga Nix. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981. 139.

End Notes
1. Jon Michael Spencer, Black Hymnody (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991), 61.

2. Spirituals Triumphant Old and New. Edited by Edward Boatner. Nashville: Sunday School Publishing Board, National Baptist Convention, 1927.

3. "History of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc." Its website.

4. Harry Butler. "The Rev. William Bobby McClain returns to Sweet Home UMC." The Gasden [Alabama] Times website. 16 September 2011.

5. Aurolyn Melba Hamm. Elbert County. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

5. Ayana Jones. "Rev. Verolga Nix Allen, 81, World-class Pianist, Chorale Director." Philadelphia Tribune website. 19 December 2014.