Harry Partch

Harry Partch:
Composer-Hobo-Musician-Sculptor-Theorist

I recently spun his musical essay: And on the Seventh Day, Petals Fell on Petaluma (1963-64) preformed by Gate 5 ensemble. Since I grabbed the record out of a stack of other 60's avant-garde LPs, I wasn't shocked by the unique sounds emitting from the stereo's speakers. After a brief perusal of the recording's notes and a bit of research, however, I was intrigued by Partch's 'process.'

The record is built of 34 verses, the first 23 being duets or trios of a mix of Partch's sculptural microtonal instruments with names such as 'Blue Rainbow', 'Spoils of War' and 'Cloud-Chamber Bowls'. The following 11 verses are pairings of the previous duets/trios through over-dubbing to create 10 quartets/quintets and a final tumultuous septet.

Partch is known for his 43 tone scale (adding to the exotic sound of his music) - where each octave rather than using the traditional 12 tone scale, manages to fit 43 tones into one octave. Since Partch created his own system, he needed to create a collection of instruments that could accommodate to his 43 tone scale. Consequently over time he built an extensive collection of instruments - some of which can be explored here. As you can likely see the instruments can double as sculpture (several of which have been exhibited) thus adding another dimension to the experience of music - experience being an integral component of Partch's art. As Partch states, "This is my trinity: sound-magic, visual beauty, experience-ritual."

Harry Parch making rose petal jam . . . .