Percival R. Kirby

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Percival Robson Kirby (born April 17, 1887 in Aberdeen , Scotland , † February 7, 1970 in Grahamstown , South Africa ) was a British-South African musicologist , composer , conductor and university lecturer who emerged with ethnomusicological work on traditional music in South Africa.

life and work

Kirby was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1887. He studied philosophy and biology at the University of Aberdeen . After studying at the Royal College of Music in London , he worked from 1914 as a music organizer at the Natal Education Department . In 1921 he joined the University of the Witwatersrand (then University College ) in Johannesburg , charged with founding a music department. Soon after arriving in South Africa, he began to study and record the music of the South African people and advocated studying it in detail in South African schools. His most intense period of research was in the 1930s, when he conducted field studies on his travels to compile a comprehensive collection of South African musical instruments, record the music on wax cylinders , and sketch his observations. After 33 years at the university, he retired.

His magnum opus The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa was published in 1934 in London by Oxford University Press , and later also by Witwatersrand University Press in Johannesburg .

For the first edition of Music in Past and Present (MGG 1) he wrote the articles Bantu (Volume 2, 1952), Bushman and Hottentot Music (Volume 2, 1952) and South Africa (Volume 12, 1965).

In 1937 he was elected a member ( Fellow ) of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .

Publications (selection)

  • The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa . Oxford University Press , London 1934
  • as editor: Andrew Smith and Natal. Documents relating to the early history of that province . Cape Town 1955
  • as editor: The Diary of Dr. Andrew Smith, director of the Expedition for Exploring Central Africa 1834-1836. In 2 volumes. The Van Riebeeck Society, Cape Town 1939
  • The kettle drums. A book for composers, conductors and kettle-drummers. 1930
  • The reed-flute ensembles of South Africa: A study in South African native music. 1933
  • A secret musical instrument ;: The ekola of the Ovakuanyama of Ovamboland. 1942
  • The true story of the 'Grosvenor', East Indiaman , wrecked on the coast of Pondoland, South Africa on August 4, 1782 . 1960
  • Wits end. An unconventional autobiography. 1967

literature

  • Valerie Bryer: Professor Percival Robson Kirby, MA, D. Litt., FRCM, Head of the Department of Music, University of the Witwatersrand, 1921–1954: a bibliography of his works. Johannesburg Public Library, 1965
  • Margaret M. de Lange (comp.): Catalog of the Musical Instruments in the collection of Prof. Percival R. Kirby. Johannesburg: Africana Museum, 1967
  • Marius Schneider : Kirby, Percival Robson . In: Music in Past and Present , (MGG 1) Volume 7, 1958, Sp. 933f
  • Jürgen Schumacher: Kirby, Percival Robson . In: MGG Online , November 2016 ( Music in the past and present , MGG 2, 2003)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kirby, Percival R. (Percival Robson) (1887-1970) - goodreads.com (accessed November 13, 2018)
  2. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed December 27, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Kirby, Percival R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kirby, Percival Robson (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African ethnomusicologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Aberdeen , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH 7th February 1970
Place of death Grahamstown , South Africa