William Oscar "Willie" Anku (25 July 1949 – 1 February 2010) was a Ghanaian music theorist, ethnomusicologist, composer, and performer. His work combined Western set theory with computer programming and experience in working with performers of various West African musical traditions to create a comprehensive theory of African rhythm. He was "unique among Africa-based music theorists in attracting the attention of the US-based Society for Music Theory," being invited to give plenary lectures and receiving tributes from prominent US-based theorists.[1]
William Oscar "Willie" Anku | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 July 1949 Gbadzeme, Volta Region, Ghana |
| Died | 1 February 2010 Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Education | University of Montana, Missoula, University of Pittsburgh, University of Ghana, Legon |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, professor, ethnomusicologist |
Music theory
editAnku rejected the relevance of simple concepts of polymeter in understanding West African music.[2]
He is noted for attempting to create a more natural, but non-indigenous system of music notation to the study of African music.[3] Anku's circular notation shows the various "combinatoric aspects of [a] pattern relative to different metrical positions, based on how the rhythmic pattern is aligned with [a] regulative metric pattern."[4]
Bode Omojola lists Anku among five contemporary scholars most influencing ideas of African Rhythm.[5] His work was cited as influential on Godfried Toussaint's general geometric theory of musical timelines.[6]
Agawu described his approach to West-African music theory as "structural set analysis," the title of two of his short books.[7] He defended the analytical approach to African music in a 2007 interview on Ghanaian MetroTV.[8]
In addition to its impact on understanding African music, Anku's theories have been cited in the study of György Ligeti.[9]
Life and education
editWillie Anku came from Gbadzeme in the Avatime Traditional Area of the Volta Region of Ghana.[10]
He received his Master of Music Education from the University of Montana, Missoula in 1976; MA and PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1986 and 1988 respectively.[11] He was head of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Legon until just prior to his death.[1]
Professor Anku was involved in a motor accident on 20 January 2010 and died 2 weeks later at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Madam Eva Ebeli, and three children.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b Kofi Agawu, "In memoriam William Oscar Anku (1949–2010)," Journal of Musical Arts in Africa (2010)
- ^ Kofi Agawu, Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions, (Psychology Press, 2003), p. 85 (on polymeter) pp. 194–96 (a section titled "Anku").
- ^ Meki Nzewi, Israel Anyahuru, and Tom Ohiaraumunna, Musical Sense and Musical Meaning: An Indigenous African Perception (Amsterdam: Rozenberg Publishers, 2008), p. 213
- ^ Justin London, Hearing in Time (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 81–82
- ^ Bode Omojola, Yorůbá Music in the Twentieth Century: Identity, Agency, and Performance (University Rochester Press, 2012), p. 5
- ^ Godfried T. Toussaint, The Geometry of Musical Rhythm, (CRC Press, 2013), p. xv
- ^ Kofi Anyidoho, Helen Lauer, eds. Reclaiming the Human Sciences and Humanities Through African Perspectives, Volume 2 (Legon-Accara: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2011), "Willie Anku" pp. 1470–72.
- ^ Carlos Sakyi meets Dr. Willie Anku on music and copyright
- ^ Amy Marie Bauer, Ligeti's Laments: Nostalgia, Exoticism and the Absolute, (Ashgate, 2011), p. 152
- ^ Willie Anku Laid To Rest
- ^ "In Memoriam". music-research-inst.org. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Legon to host musical performance in memory of Professor Anku". Retrieved 23 April 2018.