Jaap Kunst

Jaap (or Jakob) Kunst (b. Groningen, 12 August, 1891, d. Amsterdam, 7 December, 1960) was a Dutch ethnomusicologist, particularly associated with the study of gamelan music of Indonesia. He is known for coining the word "ethnomusicology" as a more accurate alternative to the then-preferred term, "comparative musicology".

Biography

Kunst was the child of two musicians, and began the study violin at 18 months old, and was drawn toward the study of Dutch folk songs; he continued to play violin throughout his life. He earned a degree in law from the University of Groningen in 1917, and pursued a career in banking and law for two years. While touring with a string trio the Dutch East Indies, he decided to remain on Java, and found a government post in Bandung. Meanwhile, he became interested in the Indonesian music, especially that of Java.

He began an archive of musical instruments, field recordings, books, and photographs for the Batavia Museum (Batavia is the colonial name of Jakarta). In 1936 he returned to the Netherlands, and in 1936 became the curator of the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, which developed into one of the most important institutes of its kind in Europe. Later he gave lectures on Indonesian music at the University of Amsterdam in 1953 and became a member of the faculty there in 1958.

Writings

* with C. Kunst Van-Wely. "De Toonkunst van Bali". (Weltevreden, 1924; part 2 in "Tijdschrift voor Indische taal-, land-, en volkenkunde", LXV, Batavia, 1925)
* with R. Goris. "Hindoe-Javaansche muziekinstrumenten". (Batavia, 1927; 2nd ed., revised, "Hindu-Javanese Musical Instruments", 1968)
* "A Study on Papuan Music" (Weltevreden, 1931)
* "Musicologisch onderzoek 1931" (Batavia, 1931)
* "Over zeldzame fluiten en veelstemmige muziek in het Ngada- en Nagehgebied, West-Flores" (Batavia, 1931)
* "De toonkunst van Java" (The Hague, 1934; English translation, "Music in Java", 1949; 3rd ed., expanded, 1973)
* "Een en ander over den Javaanschen gamelan" (Amsterdam, 1940; 4th ed. 1945)
* "Music in Flores: A Study of the Vocal and Instrumental Music Among the Tribes Living in Flores" (Leiden, 1942)
* "Music in Nias" (Leiden, 1942)
* "Around von Hornbostel's Theory of the Cycle of Blown Fifths" (Amsterdam, 1948)
* "The Cultural Background of Indonesian Music" (Amsterdam, 1949)
* "Begdja, het gamelanjongetje" (Amsterdam, 1950)
* "De inheemsche muziek in Westelijk Nieuw-Guinea" (Amsterdam, 1950)
* "Metre, Rhythm, and Multi-part Music" (Leiden, 1950)
* "Musicologica: A Study of the Nature of Ethnomusicology, Its Problems, Methods, and Representative Personalities" (Amsterdam, 1950; 2nd ed., expanded, retitled "Ethnomusicology", 1955; 3rd ed. 1959)
* "Kultur-historische Beziehungen zwischen dem Balkan und Indonesien" (Amsterdam, 1953, English translation, 1954)
* "Sociologische bindingen in de muziek" (The Hague, 1953)

Kunst also edited collections of folksongs from the Netherlands and New Guinea.

Jaap Kunst prize

The Society for Ethnomusicology offers a yearly prize named after Kunst for the best published article in the field by a member of the society.Fact|date=June 2008