According to some, one of the most important composers of the 20th Century. And according to Dr. Jim Greeson, a composer whose impending 100th birthday in October has inspired a 56-minute long documentary.
Part of Dr. Greeson’s interest in Nancarrow stems from the fact that the composer was a native of Texarkana, Arkansas.
“At this time Nancarrow is well known among music scholars – especially in Europe, but not among the general public. My one-hour documentary is finished, and will be premiered at the Southbank Centre in London on April 21 at a ‘Nancarrow Weekend’ event in honor of the centennial of his birth 100 years ago.”
One of the more interesting aspects of the documentary, and Conlon Nancarrow’s work as a whole, focuses on his compositions for the player piano- the iPod of the early 20th Century. Nancarrow ended up writing music that was made specifically for the player piano- music so rhythmically and mathematically complex, that only a machine would be able to produce it. Frenzied, frantic, kinetic- any and all of these adjectives can describe the music Nancarrow created to put a player piano through its paces.
The documentary tells the viewers about Rhythm Study No. 1, composed in 1949, “Its climax has five different speeds layered on top of each other. This is the crucial point where Nancarrow began to forge an entirely new way of making music…” In some of Nancarrow’s musical compositions, he uses tempos as much as 10 times faster than a tempo already established in the piece.
Really think about that: one “hand” is moseying along at 40 beats per minute, then suddenly, the other “hand” comes in at 400 beats per minute. And then– then!– the first “hand” gradually speeds up, while the second is gradually slowing down, until they meet ever so briefly, in the middle of the keyboard as they accelerate and pass each other.
Of course, Nancarrow didn’t limit himself to composing just for player piano. He also gave those of us that are less mechanically constructed some great music to perform.
While Conlon Nancarrow is relatively well known among European music circles, in those circles in the United States and even in his native Arkansas he is overlooked. Dr. Greeson hopes to ammend this omission with his documentary.
Maybe someday soon, everyone will know who Conlon Nancarrow is, and precisely why he received the MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” for Lifetime Achievement in 1982. No doubt all of Jim Greeson’s hard work over the past 12 months will contribute significantly to many aspects of both Arkansas history and music history.
