Draft:Percival Robson Kirby
Percival Robson Kirby | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 April 1887 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | 7 February 1970 |
| Occupation(s) | Ethnomusicologist, historian, composer, Professor of Music |
| Known for | Ethnomusicology of Southern Africa, Musical instrument collection |
Percival Robson Kirby (17 April 1887 – 7 February 1970) was a prominent authority on the ethnomusicology of Southern Africa, historian, composer, and Professor of Music at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was a fluent speaker and an author on a wide range of musicological and other subjects.
Early life and education
[edit]Kirby was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. His father, John Kirby, a Lancashire-born musician, served as an organist, conductor, and lecturer in music at the Church of Scotland Training College for Teachers. His mother, a Scottish mezzo-soprano and pianist, was a schoolteacher before her marriage. Raised in a musical environment, Kirby absorbed a wealth of musical knowledge and participated in various amateur performances despite not receiving formal musical training.
Kirby attended Aberdeen Grammar School and Aberdeen Central Higher Grade School. He trained as a teacher at the Church of Scotland Training College and Aberdeen Training Centre, serving as a pupil-teacher under the Aberdeen School Board while attending classes at the University of Aberdeen. After three years of study, he earned the "Parchment" Certificate of the Scotch Education Department and a Master of Arts degree with Philosophy and Biology as principal subjects.
Early career
[edit]Following his father's death in 1905, Kirby supplemented his family's income by performing in orchestral and military bands, playing the flute and piccolo. He conducted the Aberdeen Amateur String Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Gordon Memorial Institute, gaining substantial experience in ensemble music.
Around 1906, Kirby became closely associated with Charles Sanford Terry, then Professor of History at the University of Aberdeen, who succeeded his father as conductor of the University Choral and Orchestral Society. Terry's mentorship greatly influenced Kirby's career, and Kirby later dedicated his major musicological work, The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa, to Terry.
Advanced studies and move to South Africa
[edit]After graduating from the University of Aberdeen, Kirby received a Reid Scholarship and attended the Royal College of Music in London. There, he studied composition under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and played timpani in the College Orchestra. He composed numerous pieces, including the orchestral variations on The Maid of Amsterdam, and obtained the Associate Diploma of the Royal College in composition.
In 1914, Kirby moved to South Africa to serve as the Organiser of Musical Education in Natal. His primary role was training school music-teachers at the Government Training College in Pietermaritzburg, working with Coloured, Indian, and Black students. This experience highlighted the diversity of musical traditions, sparking his interest in ethnomusicological research.
University of the Witwatersrand
[edit]In 1921, Kirby was appointed the first Professor of Music at the University College, Johannesburg (now the University of the Witwatersrand). He faced initial challenges in building the Music Department but succeeded in establishing a strong program. Kirby promoted the performance of diverse and dramatic musical works, composing and arranging music for many productions. He designed stage settings and installed a cyclorama for performances, contributing significantly to Johannesburg's musical life. Kirby chaired the Johannesburg Musical Society for over thirty years.
Ethnomusicological research and instrument collection
[edit]Kirby's research on aboriginal music began to flourish, resulting in numerous publications from 1923 onward. He collected material from travelers' accounts and directly from Black musicians during visits to tribal areas, including the Kalahari Desert. This work led to the creation of a unique collection of musical instruments, which Kirby meticulously assembled over the years.
The collection, now housed in the Africana Museum at the Johannesburg Public Library, includes over 1,000 instruments. Among these are approximately 600 European, Indian, Chinese, and Arab instruments, alongside over 400 instruments used by indigenous peoples such as the Bushmen, Hottentots, and various Black South African tribes. Many of these instruments are unique and unlikely to be found again, making the collection particularly valuable.
Kirby's comprehensive work, The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa, provides detailed historical, geographical, ethnographical, and technical descriptions of the South African specimens. This publication remains a seminal work in the field of ethnomusicology and offers an in-depth understanding of the diverse musical traditions in Southern Africa.
Contributions to South African history
[edit]Kirby's wide reading in Africana led to several historical publications, including works on the wreck of the Grosvenor East Indiaman and the diaries of Dr. Andrew Smith. He earned a Doctor of Literature degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1931, with a thesis on his literary contributions to the study of music.
Honors and later life
[edit]Throughout his career, Kirby received numerous honors, including being elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. He served on various committees related to science, museums, and the arts. In 1955, he attended the Prague Spring Musical Festival as a guest of the Czechoslovakian Government and received the Dvorak Commemoration Medal.
Kirby retired in 1952 and moved to Grahamstown. He was celebrated for his contributions to music and ethnomusicology with honorary degrees from Rhodes University and the University of the Witwatersrand. Kirby passed away in Grahamstown in 1970, and his name was later inscribed in the Book of Remembrance in the Musician's Chapel at the Church of the Holy Trinity in London.
Publications and compositions
[edit]An extensive bibliography of Kirby's works can be found in Valerie Bryer's Professor Percival Robson Kirby MA, D.Litt, FRCM, Head of the Department of Music, University of the Witwatersrand, 1921–1952: A Bibliography of His Works (Johannesburg Public Library, 1965). Kirby's publications include:
- The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa
- A Source Book on the Wreck of the Grosvenor East Indiaman (1953)
- Jacob van Reenen and the Grosvenor Expedition of 1790-1791 (1958)
- The True Story of the Grosvenor East Indiaman (1960; London, 1961)
- The Diary of Dr. Andrew Smith ... 1834-1836 (2 vols., 1939-1940)
- Andrew Smith and Natal (1955)
- Sir Andrew Smith, M.D., K.C.B., His Life, Letters and Works (1965)
Kirby contributed significantly to the study and preservation of Southern African musical traditions and the broader field of musicology. His legacy is remembered through his extensive research, publications, and the collections he assembled.