Partch adapted a standard viola by flattening its bridge to allow for three-note chords (triple stops), though this meant losing the ability to solo on the second string.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Harry Partch considered himself first and last a composer, but was 'provoked' into becoming a musical theorist and instrument builder due to his demanding compositional needs.
Compositional Technique
Partch's 'Speech Music' technique, inspired by ancient Greek music and W.B. Yeats, involves musically notating and intensifying the inflections and rhythms of spoken words.
Recording & Production
This album contains the first-ever recording of Harry Partch's speaking voice in conversation, captured during his 1942 lecture-demonstration at the Eastman School of Music.
Critical Reception
Partch's 1944 Carnegie Hall debut received varied critical reception, with some calling him an 'eccentric amateur' while others found his music 'curiously affecting' and 'poignant'.
Compositional Technique
Partch's musical system uses a 43-tone scale to the octave, which he contrasted with the standard 12 tempered pitches, to achieve 'true' or pure intervals.
Composer Biography
Harry Partch, the composer, hitchhiked and freighthopped across the country in 1941 with only 10 cents in his pocket, enduring the Great Depression.
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