MICROTONAL MUSIC OF A MAVERICK Harry Partch, At a Glance American composer Harry Partch was a rebellious, radical, and pioneering artist who defied convention and forged his own path to create unconventional music. He not only invented his own unique musical notation system, but also an orchestra of original hand-built instruments, the only ones that can be used to perform his distinct, otherworldly soundscapes. Below, a brief overview of the composer’s innovations.
TIMELINE Composer, Inventor, Radical ’01 Harry Partch Partch began composing at an The Instruments was born June early age, when he was 14. 24, 1901 in A timeline featuring some of Harry Partch's Both of his parents had passed Oakland, CA away before he enrolled at the original creations, loosely divided by types. University of Southern California ’22 in 1920. He only stayed for two years of Drops out of undergraduate study. the University Moving to San Francisco, he eventually of Southern STRINGS California taught himself music by reading books Adapted Strings from the shelves of local libraries, all the ’28 Adapted Viola while composing on the side. ’28 Originally called the monophone, Begins writing Partch's first instrument was a hybrid Partch spent parts of the 1930s as a hobo, Exposition of of the cello and the viola. but had time to freely explore his new mu- Monophony to Cello neck ORGANS sical theories. He also started to tinker with outline theories Viola body Reed organs instruments, first adapting a viola and later a guitar, to realize the sounds of his new The Ptolemy ’33 The composer's first musical ideas. Later, he created, by hand, ’34 Adapted Guitar I reed organ uses a a world of completely original instru- Partch's second instrument was special label with color ments, many of which are string- or ’35 designed to be played flat on the lap, codes on the keys. percussion-based, and more than Obtains grant for Kitharas like a slide guitar, and was amplified Federal Writers’ to emphasize tapping. 20 works for concert performance Project and some film scores. Kithara I ’38 Six-string Martin parlor guitar, retuned and Partch’s Chromelodeons modified with included a special stainless steel frets Chromelodeon I ’41 color-coded Additional keyboard depicting PERCUSSION Harmonic Canons keyboard his 43-tone scale. Brazilian rosewood and known as Pernambuco key blocks Kithara I ”sub-bass” produce arpeggiated chords with a single sweep of the features 72 ’45 ’45 Harmonic Canon I Publishes Genesis of a Marimbas Music, outlining theory mallet. strings, Adapted This retuned reed organ has a and practice of his music ‘46 Diamond Marimba sourced from Guitar II standard keyboard and a collection guitars, banjos, of stops, like a traditional organ. ’47 36 blocks organized and other Metal, Glass & Bells in diagonal rows instruments. ’49 Bass Marimba Spoils of War Chromelodeon II ’50 ’50 Cloud Chamber Bowls ’51 Marimba Eroica Surrogate Bamboo Marimbas Kithara ’53 ’53 Harmonic Canon II Seven Also known as Castor and Pollux, feet Kithara II ’54 this unique instrument features tall two resonating redwood boxes, Various stops ’55 Bamboo Marimba I (Boo I) each of which has 44 strings on enable full triads to top of it. sound with just one 64 bamboo key depressed. 14 suspended resonators Borrowed Ideas glass bowls across six Bloboy ’58 ranks According to Sets up own ’59 Crychord Partch himself, this studio in a former To change pitch, a metal Zymo-Xyl bellows-based rod is used to adjust Modified xylophone features chick hatchery in instrument—made of tension in this instrument's found objects such as tuned Petaluma, CA organ pipes and a car single string. Used primarily wine and liquor bottles, Ford horn—sounds like a ’62 for improvisation. hubcaps, and a ketchup bottle passing freight train. made of aluminum. ’63 Mazda Harmonic Gourd Tree with ’64 ’64 Marimba ’64 Eucal Canon III ’65 MISCELLANEOUS Cone Gongs ’65 Quadrangularis Blossom ’66 ’66 Koto Twelve temple Reversum A gift from composer bells attached to Completes And on the Seventh ’67 Small Hand Lou Harrison, this gourd resonators Day Petals Fell in Petaluma Japanese instrument Instruments and Delusion of the Fury was then modified Partch also created addition- Nose-shaped by Partch. al, unique instruments that gongs come from ’69 were difficult to classify. airplane fuel tanks World premiere of Most of these were unusual types of claves and other Bamboo Marimba II (Boo II) ’71 Delusion of the Fury at percussion instruments. Made from mottled Japanese bamboo; University of California features similar tuning as Boo I
’74 Partch passes away at his home in Encinitas, California
Partch’s 43-tone scale (outer ring) vs. Chromatic 12-tone scale (inner ring)
A New Way to Syntonic comma Notate Music Classic major 7 For centuries, composers have used “equal Undecimal neutral 7 — nd
43 Unison temperament” in their music, using a 12-note — Syntonic comma
42 Undecimal comma 1 2 chromatic scale that is now standard in Western 41 Minor semitone th 3 music. Harry Partch rejected this concept in 40 4 Min. diatonic semitone Just minor 7 5 order to create a wholly new style of music. th Pythagorean min. 7 — 39 C Undecimal tone neutral 2 38 6 4 ⁄5 After studying the history of tuning, Partch th 37 B C# 7 Min. whole tone embraced the “just intonation” pioneered by th Major 7 8 Harmonic 7 36 nd Maj. whole tone the theories of Pythagoras and other ancient Unison 9 th Greeks. Whereas “equal temperament” 35 A# th D Septimal whole tone Minor 2 10 features exact ratios between tones to create Minor 7 nd Septimal maj. 6 rd a standard scale (12 notes), “just intonation” th th 34 Major 2 11 Septimal min. 3 includes gradations of pure, untampered Partch’s intervals, or micro-tones (notes between Pythagorean maj. 6th 33 43-Tone vs. Pythagorean min. 3rd A Major 6th Minor 3rd D# 12 the traditional 12 notes). As a result, Partch’s Chromatic Major 6th 32 13 Minor 3rd scale consists of 43 different tones. Almost Scale th Major 3 all of Partch’s music is written using this th 31 14 Perfect 4 rd Undecimal neut. 3 Minor 6 th specialized scale. # 5 Dimin. Undecimal neut. 6 G E rd 15 Partch outlined and summarized much of his th 30 th Major 3 Perfect 5 rd musical philosophy in the 1947 book Genesis Minor 6 th 16 29 of a Music. The resulting sound is entirely G F 17 — — 28 th # Septimal maj. 3 unique and is described by New Yorker music F 18 27 critic Alex Ross as “staggeringly strange, but th 19 Narrow 4 26 20 Perfect 4 also achingly beautiful.” th 21 25 22 rd Acute 4 Septimal min. 6 th Wide 5 24 Harmonic aug. 4 th 23 On the right is a graphical illustration of a th Septimal tritone th Perfect 5 traditional “equal temperament” octave (inner th
Narrow 5 circle) compared to a “just intonation” octave HOW TO READ by Harry Partch (outer circle), along with Chromatic Partch’s 43-tone
Euler’s tritone names for each of the intervals—Pythagorean th Harmonic dim. 5 major 6th, Septimal whole tone—as outlined Unison 1 Unison in the composer’s book. The “relative 2 Syntonic comma frequency” refers to matching pitches that are Tone Relative Tone Tone the same in both scales. name frequency number name
Credits: Text: Eric M. Gewirtz. Harry Partch image: © William Gedney Collection, Duke University David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Instrument images: © Steven Severinghaus. Close-up image of Chromelodeon keys: © Michael Bölter. Sources: American Public Media, HarryPartch.com, Microtonal-Synthesis.com, Wikipedia.org, and Corporeal.com
©2015, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.