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Music takes him round the world
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Mr. David Robinson, MBE, is in Kochi to conduct examinations for Trinity College. Pleased with the sound of music in the city, he tells K. PRADEEP that ethnic music will soon be incorporated in the syllabus
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THE PLAYING of the merry organ and sweet singing of the choir. Music has always been the church's greatest ornament. No wonder then that Alexander Pope once observed that `some to church repair', not for the doctrine, but `for the music there'. The music there was expressive, divine.
Life, attitudes, music, has changed. Modern church music has also evolved into something more louder, trendy but is losing that quality which elevated this genre of music to a plane of its own. And David Robinson should know.
Trained as a choral and organ scholar at the Rochester Cathedral, this Englishman began training religious and secular choirs throughout the county, quite early in life. The church played a significant role in moulding this musician, who spent around two decades with the Royal Air Force, before taking up the job of Regional Consultant, South East Asia and music examiner for Trinity College, London.
"The cathedrals in London, about 60 of them, were the centres of music making. There were experienced music makers and it was an honourable tradition. Now there is a desperate attempt to preserve it. Lifestyles have changed. How many people go to the church nowadays? There is no music without audience," said Mr. Robinson, with that merry smile lighting up his chubby face.
There is a misconception that music runs in the blood. Talent can be very, very individual and it is important how quickly it is spotted. Mr. Robinson travels back in time to his schooldays in Rochester, when he used to go shopping with his mother and gaze at the lovely musical instruments at the stores. "One day my mother went into a store to buy a clock and came back with a piano," Mr. Robinson gushes with a laugh. From then on the little boy was hooked on to this wonderful instrument.
This was till he trained as a choral and organ scholar. Mr. Robinson soon became the organist at the parish church in Rochester. The organ is still widely considered the king of instruments. "There were very few to take up this instrument. It required long hours of practice and being away from the comfort of your home during those bitter winter days was terrible. And somehow the organist seemed to be cut off from the rest of the congregation at the church. He sat far away, somewhere on the top floor, very often the music he produced never really reaching those on the floor below. It was quite lonely up there too," remembered Mr. Robinson.
Today there are just a handful of organists. Beethoven once placed an organist, who is the master of his instrument, at the very head of all virtuosi. But the instrument itself has slowly disappeared from the churches. "So naturally there's less good music in churches today. There is the digital equivalent to the organ today but the soul of the music is missing. Of course, change is inevitable," opined Mr. Robinson.
The piano too faces this fate in many countries like India. This despite the Trinity School centres in various parts of the country and a sizable number of children learning the instrument. In its 125th year, Trinity has formulated a syllabus tailored to offer the widest range of style and choice in the support and development for pianists. "The huge cost of a piano is perhaps a deterrent. In countries like China, they make their own instruments, which makes it affordable. Now the electronic keyboard has become popular," felt Mr. Robinson.
However, there can be no substitute for the piano. The new substitutes may sound like it, you can get a sample, which produces an exact replica of the sound. But the piano is in itself a small orchestra. Its range can embrace the highest and lowest practicable notes. The piano is still a social instrument par excellence. That is why the two centres in Kochi, the National Academy of Music and Amedeus focus a lot of attention on piano lessons.
Trinity is also considering the inclusion of ethnic music in the syllabus. " Every country has its own music, be it Thailand or Malaysia. But I'm sure Indian music has come much farther than any of the others. Ethnic music will soon be incorporated in the syllabus. There is need to get experts on the panel. Once all this is done, I'm sure it will be there," said Mr. Robinson, who has been conducting examinations at Trinity centres throughout the world since 1972.
What his experience has taught him is that teachers must change. For the last 100 years the teachers associated with Trinity, like most other music schools, have been going through the same teaching process, the same syllabus. "They cannot be producers of sausages."
Realising this Trinity has effected changes in their syllabus. Apart from the usual pieces from the 18th, 19th and 20th century, Technical Work, which tests the necessary technical skills for the performance of pieces, Sight Reading, Ear Tests or Aural Awareness, they have inserted signposts between different grades. "We now have the First Concert Certificate, a Performer's Certificate where the onus is not on prepared pieces but rather on performances from memory and presentation skills. All the examinations are candidate and performance based. The aim is to produce the right environment to produce their musical skills and accomplishments," explained Mr. Robinson.
From a performer to a teacher, Mr. Robinson has come a long, long way. "I'm really enjoying what I'm doing now. It's lovely to see the young children play so enchantingly on the various instruments. Let me tell you I have come across some extremely talented young kids here in Kochi. They, to me, were better off than many of those of their age, back in London," Mr. Robinson confided.
Teaching and training was not something new for Mr. Robinson. He was responsible for training and examining musicians at the RAF. A qualified music conductor from the Royal Academy, he directed music for the RAF in Germany and later at the RAF College, Cranwell, where he was responsible for the ceremonial, concert music, operatic productions and religious music. Later Mr. Robinson became the Director of the School of Music, which was responsible for examining musicians throughout South East Asia, the Mediterranean, Germany, United Kingdom and for the programme of instruction in conducting, harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and history. His work in this field brought recognition in his appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1969.
All those years in the Services denied Mr. Robinson of one big dream in life. "To compose music for films is what I would like to do if I get another chance. Something big and spacious. It is a real challenge to paint a scene in a split second. And my choice of the best film music scores would be from `The Mission' and of course `Dr. Zhivago'," said Mr. Robinson.
Now settled in Malaysia for the past 12 years, this musician, who is master of some tough instruments like the oboe, organ and the piano, now is on a mission to unite races through the universal language of music, courtesy Trinity.
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