Leon and Lynn Dallin - Kumbaya

Topic: Commercial Folk Music Revival
The ultimate sign authors or genres have been legitimatized is the purchase of their books by public libraries. That was the audience for James Leisy’s Folk Song Abecedary, mentioned in the post for 22 December 2019. It was a 6.25" x 9.25" hardcover that would fit on any shelf.

Unfortunately, it also was 1.5" thick, much to big to fit on a music stand or piano.

The used copy I purchased was discarded by a Connecticut library. The spine had been broken in two places where a reader had used too much pressure to lay it flat. It fell open to pages 146–147 with the songs "Greensleeves," "What Child Is This?" and "The Gypsy Laddie." It broke between pages 208 and 209 with "The Keeper Would a-Hunting Go," "Knaves Will Be Knaves," and the headnote to "Kum Ba Ya."

The volume was good for reading, but not for singing. Because songs were arranged alphabetically, the music often appeared on one page and the words on the back side, so one had to keep flipping the page to sing and play it.

William Brown saw a different market for an authoritative folk-song collection. He was a college textbook published in Dubuque, Iowa, who began producing workbooks for science instructors after World War II. [1] He served markets that were too small for the large companies to exploit profitably.

In the middle 1960s, Brown began issuing books for music teachers interested in the methods of Zoltán Kodály. This was before the International Kodály Society was organized in Oakland, California, in 1973. [2]

Kodály began developing his methods in Hungary in the 1920s. [3] As his ideas were developed by him and others, two sometimes contradictory impulses were merged. The one was a set of techniques for teaching music literacy that made scores the prime conduit for the transmission of tunes. The second was an emphasis on folk songs as the vehicle for preparing students to sing the work of classical composers. [4]

Émigrés from the 1956 Hungarian revolt spread his ideas. Árpád Darázs began teaching at the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York. [5] Boosey and Hawkes began publishing Kodály’s books in London in 1962. [6]

Students in college music education programs were interested in his work by the late 1960s. They were inhibited from taking his ideas into classrooms by the lack of appropriate music in public school textbooks. The first master’s theses listed by WorldCat in 1967 were ones that reviewed this particular problem. [7]

In 1972, Brown published Lawrence Wheeler and Lois Raebeck’s Orff and Kodály Adapted for the Elementary School. In 1966, he may have commissioned the Heritage Songster of "folk and familiar songs." [8] It was an 8.5" x 11" paperback.

The songs "were selected on the basis of a systematic analysis of approximately 15,000 songs contained in school music series, learned by children, remembered by adults, and sung by Americans of all ages." [9] The result was an olio of lullabies, nursery songs, singing games, and songs from the nineteenth century, including those by Stephen Foster. Most people who commented on the book on Amazon were teachers who called it a "great resource." [10]

One assumes the analysis and layout were done by someone at William Brown, and that the editors, Leon and Lynn Dallin, added comments and a soupçon of prestige. Leon had written a text on modern composition for Brown in 1957. [11]

1966 was the height of the folk revival. The next year, the Dallins published a collection of Christmas carols with another publisher [12] and a Folk Songster that included "Kumbaya." It was thinner than the Heritage Songster, .25" versus nearly 1", and better adapted to singing. The second edition of Heritage solved the bulk problem with a plastic-comb binding. [13]

The 1980 revision of Heritage added 24 songs and dropped 11. Four religious songs were replaced with two that appeared in the Folk Songster: "Kumbaya" and "Michael Row the Boat Ashore." It also included two other folk-music revival songs, Simon and Garfunkle’s "Scarborough Fair" [14] and Woody Guthrie’s "This Land Is Your Land."

The comments that accompanied songs were perfunctory in both books. There was more information on works by classical composers like Engelbert Humperdinck than there was for ones like "Clementine. The Folk Songster had the veneer of a folk song collection, with notes some were collected from Louise Pierson Nicholes, Earl Hardy Nicholes, Cordell Frizzell, and Thomas W. Meade. The first two were Lynn’s parents.

The purpose of the book was not originality or uniqueness. The arrangement of "Kumbaya" was close to that of Leisy. The note that "both the words ‘come by here, my Lord’ and their pidgin English equivalent, ‘kum ba ya, my Lord,’ are used" also was borrowed. If one wanted better information, one could consult Leisy.

The rationale for the Folk Songster was the format, an easy to use book for singers and guitar players that included many of the desired songs. The used copy I bought had a paper stuck between "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and "Soon I Will Be Done" that contained the words and chords for Leonard Cohen’s "Suzanne." [15] A singer had owned the book.

Performers
Vocal Soloist: single melodic line
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar chords
Rhythm Accompaniment: none

Credits
Folk Songster
None provided.

Heritage 1980
Africa

"According to a widely circulated theory, the pidgin words resulted from attempts by native Africans to mimic the sounds of missionaries singing the song, which is traditional in Africa."

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation:
Folk Songster
no comment

Heritage 1980
koom-by-yah

Verses: kumbaya, sleeping, crying, praying, shouting, singing, worshipping

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

Basic Form: verse-burden

Verse Repetition Pattern: "kumbaya" repeated after each verse.

"the words ‘come by here, my Lord,’ and their pidgin English equivalent, ‘kum ba ya, my Lord’ are used."

Ending: none
Unique Features: the verse "someone’s worshiping"

Influences: "sleeping" and "shouting" were used by The Villagers, mentioned in the post for 29 December 2019. Their use by the Dallins suggested they were part of a general version used in the Los Angeles area.

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5

Tempo:
Folk Songster
Very slowly

Heritage 1980
Slowly evenly, and with dignity

Rhythm: 2/2, even beats
Key Signature: two sharps
Guitar/Autoharp Chords: D G A⁷

Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final "Lord"
Group Harmony: unison

Influences: it was very close to the version published by Leisy, except it used A⁷ in one place where Leisy used an A chord

Audience Perceptions
Format may seem trivial, but when one is in a music store and none of the books have everything, but each is good enough, it’s a sufficient reason for selecting one over another. It’s like picking clothes that are comfortable when all the choices are equally acceptable. One Amazon customer wrote:

"I have several of more pedigreed songbooks, including Carl Sandburg’s and Alan Lomax’s, but this slimmer book is often the one I put in my satchel. I has most of the great songs, plus many obscuities that I recognise from 78RPM recordings. It gives guitar chords as well as the melody. The lyrics are quite complete. I love it!" [16]

Notes on Performers
The Dallins were Mormons. [17] Leon was raised in Utah and studied modern composition at the Eastman School of Music. Soon after he received his master’s degree in 1941, the United States entered World War II. Leon spent the next several years in the Air Force. [18]

By 1948, he was back in Utah on the faculty of Brigham Young University. Leon was in a musical community that encouraged his talents: his new works were performed by the school’s orchestra, band, and choral groups. [19] He also wrote scores for films by another faculty member, Glen Turner. [20]

Leon moved to Long Beach State College in 1955. [21] It was a new school with few established musical traditions. Leon turned from composing to criticism.

Leon may have had the contacts with William Brown, but I suspect it was his wife, Lynn Dallin, who did most of the work of the Heritage Songster. She was "an accomplished pianist" [22] who came from a family with a singing tradition. Her father, who moved to California from Utah, [23] accompanied his singing with a guitar. [24] Her mother, who was born in California, [25] sang at "many a hoedown." [26]

Why either Dallin would have had an interest in music for children is a mystery. I found nothing more about Lynn than she wrote cookbooks. [27] Her education was not recorded, so there’s no way to know if she studied music education or taught music. No children were mentioned in articles about either.

Brown’s music series editor may have been the catalyst for the Heritage Songster. Before Frederick Westphal joined the faculty of Sacramento State College, he had been active in the summer programs at Interlochen. [28] It is not known if he maintained contacts with the music camp, but in 1966 Kodály attended conferences at Stanford University and Interlochen. [29]

Lynn most likely was the moving force behind the Folk Songster.

Availability
Book: Leon and Lynn Dallin. "Kumbaya." Folk Songster. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company, 1967. 100.

Book: Leon and Lynn Dallin. "Kumbaya." Heritage Songster. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company, 1980 edition. 66.

End Notes
1. "Brown, William C." Encyclopedia Dubuque website.

2. Lois Choksy. The Kodály Method I. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1999 edition. 6. Cited by Wikipedia. "Kodály Method."

3. Wikipedia, Kodály Method.

4. Lois Choksy. The Kodály Method. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1974. 22. Sara Bidner paraphrased her to say: "Kodály believed that materials for teaching music to young children should come exclusively from three sources: (1) authentic children’s games and nursery songs, (2) authentic folk music, and (3) good composed music (music written by recognized composers)." [30]

5. Sara Baker Bidner. "A Folk Song Approach to Music Reading for Upper Elementary Levels Based on the Kodály Method." PhD dissertation. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1978. 20.

6. A search of WorldCat for the keywords "Kodaly Method" found the earliest London publication was Zoltán Kodály. Let Us Sing Correctly. London: Boosey and Hawkes, 1962.

7. Connie Lee Frame. "Evaluation of Kodály-Richards Teaching Method Used in Conjunction with Pre-existing Music Series." Masters in music thesis. Northwestern University, 1967.

Sister Saint Paul Dougherty. "A Comparative Study of Zoltan Kodaly’s Hungarian Choral Method and Making Music Your Own, Published by Silver Burdett." Masters in music thesis. Catholic University of America, 1967.

8. Leon Dallin and Lynn Dallin. Heritage Songster. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown, 1967.
9. Dallin, Heritage, 1980. ix.

10. For example, one teacher wrote "As a teacher, I have used this extensive collection of mostly folk songs as a foundation for teaching sight-reading, rhythm, key recognition, interval training, etc. The songs do not have accompaniments -- melody line plus chord symbols only -- but that being said, there are TONS of songs, none terribly lengthy -- so it’s a really great tool to introduce and reinforce many important musical skills and concepts." [31]

Another wrote "This is a comprehensive collection of folk songs. Chord symbols make it easy to accompany on the spot. One of my favorite resources for teaching general and vocal music classes!" [32]

Amazon itself advertized the second edition was "designed to enhance elementary methods classes and to serve as a song resource for anyone who will lead young children in song. It is ideal for elementary education majors, music therapists, recreation majors, and parents." [33]

11. Leon Dallin. Techniques of Twentieth Century Composition. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown, 1957.

12. Leon Dallin and Lynn Dallin. Christmas Caroler for Young Pianists. Westbury, New York: Pro Art, 1967.

13. One teacher told Amazon buyers "I had the 1st edition of this book many years ago and used it for all of my music classes until it fell apart. This edition is in the spiral format so it stands easily on the piano to read and play." [34]

14. Simon and Garfunkel. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle." Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Columbia CL 2563. Released 10 October 1966.

15. Leonard Cohen. "Suzanne." Songs of Leonard Cohen. Columbia CS 9533. 1967.
16. P. Mumford. Comment posted 17 May 2005. Amazon website for Folk Songster.

17. "Leon Dallin." Encyclopedia of Mormon Arts website. Both their genealogies were documented on the Mormon’s FamilySearch website.

18. "Leon Dallin." Prabook website.
19. "Catalog: Leon Dallin." Encyclopedia of Mormon Arts website.

20. Amateur Cinema website gave information on two films Leon made with Glen H. Turner: "The Barrier" and "Caineville."

21. Prabook.

22. Michael Dobkins. "March 4th in Seal Beach History." Seal Beach Founder’s Day website. 4 March 2019.

23. "Earl Hardy Nicholes." FamilySeach website.
24. "Sam Bass." Folk Songster. 10.
25. "Caroline Louise Pierson." FamilySearch website.
26. "Drunk Last Night." Folk Songster. 140.
27. Lynn Dallin. Stay Out of the Kitchen Cookbook. Garden City: Doubleday, 1968.

28. "Remembering Sac State’s Frederick Westphal." Valley Community Newspapers [Sacramento, California] website. 5 October 2011.

29. "Salty Saint of Budapest." Time. 26 August 1966. 39–40. Cited by Bidner. 21–22.
30. Bidner. 35.

31. suzysarah. Comment posted 28 April 2017. Amazon website for 1970 printing of Heritage Songster.

32. Kathryn. Comment posted 15 January 2014. Amazon website for 1980 edition of Heritage Songster.

33. Amazon website for 1980 edition of Heritage Songster.

34. karengersh. Comment posted 19 September 2015. Amazon website for 1980 edition of Heritage Songster.