The American composer Harry Partch (1901–1974) composed in musical tunings not available on conventional Western instruments. Instead, he developed a 43-tone scale and new instruments. His music emphasized monophony and corporeality, in contrast to the abstract, polyphonic music prevalent at the time. His earliest compositions were small-scale pieces to be intoned to instrumental backing; his later works were large-scale, integrated theater productions in which he expected each of the performers to sing, dance, speak, and play instruments.[1]
Partch described the theory and practice of his music in his book Genesis of a Music, which he had published first in 1947,[2] and in an expanded edition in 1974.[3] A collection of essays, journals, and librettos by Partch was published posthumously as Bitter Music: Collected Journals, Essays, Introductions, and Librettos 1991. Philip Blackburn edited a collection of Partch's writings, drawings, scores, and photographs, published as Enclosure 3 in 1997.
Partch partially supported himself with the sales of recordings, which he began making in the late 1930s.[4] He published his recordings under the Gate 5 Records label beginning in 1953.[5] Towards the end of his life, Columbia Masterworks released records of his works. Partch scored six films by Madeline Tourtelot, starting with 1957's Windsong, and was the subject of a number of documentaries.[6]
Partch made recordings of his own music; on recordings such as the soundtrack to Windsong, he used multitrack recording, which allowed him to play all the instruments himself. He never used synthesized or computer-generated sounds, though he had access to such technology.[9]
Title | Year | Length | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windsong | 1958 | 17:38 | Madeline Tourtelot | |
Music Studio—Harry Partch | 1958 | 17:48 | Madeline Tourtelot | |
Rotate the Body in All Its Planes | 1961 | 9:00 | Madeline Tourtelot | |
Revelation in the Courthouse Park | 1961 | 6:50 | Madeline Tourtelot |
|
The Music of Harry Partch | 1968 | 29:59 |
|
|
U.S. Highball | 1968 | 24:18 | Madeline Tourtelot | Originally filmed in 1958 |
Delusion of the Fury: A Ritual Of Dream And Delusion | 1971 | 75:00 | Madeline Tourtelot |
|
The Dreamer That Remains: A Portrait of Harry Partch | 1973 | 27:00 | Stephen Pouliot | Producer: Betty Freeman A Tantalus Film in Association with Whitelight |