Partch Factualia

Hey kids!

This won't take long.

1. Johnny changed his story from "hidden from view behind the acting" to
"the instruments were not visible...and they never moved." Oh, they were
there, most of them high *above* and behind the actors; it would have been
awkward to put them in *front* of the actors . Most were lit rather
dimly, as was most of the set. They didn't move, but they weren't required
to in "Revelation In The Courthouse Park". They did, however, add visual
drama to the setting, as they were not "hidden from view behind the acting".
They were not in a pit, nor behind a scrim.

2. Sound systems are always a problem, no argument there. That's why we
used to carry our own, and our own sound person. Accounts I get from my
colleague Randy Hoffman, who assisted at Lincoln Center, was that the most
heinously botched job of a sound crew and their equipment came at the hands
of the group hired for that concert. He was embarrassed, though it was out
of his control, and he (and I) couldn't figure out why in the Big Apple (and
Lincoln Center), of all places, you couldn't get a competent engineer and
gear that didn't buzz. Very upsetting.

3. It is not necessary to use a synthesizer for the "production of the many
written notes on the scores." All of the notes that Harry wrote can be
played by a competent keyboard player on the Chromelodeon. I doubt that
Partch would write parts for the instruments that couldn't be executed,
difficult at they might be. Francis Thumm is out of town, otherwise he
could back me up on this. The only reason for a synth is as a substitution.
Microwave ovens weren't common either, but don't try using them to play the
parts in "Oedipus". [By the way, note the correct spelling -- Chromelodeon.
At first I thought it was a typo, but other posts from Johnny are incorrect
in this regard.]

4. There is, after all, a difference between reading something and
understanding it. More than a few of Harry's statements are incontrovertible
and compelling rebukes to the 'notes only' crowd. Ah, but life is less
difficult if you just ignore such details.

And if one can gain insights from colleagues and experiences, from debates
such as these, examine potential flaws in their own logic, and alter an
opinion or direction, most would consider that a learning curve. If one
were, on the other hand, espousing (maybe maliciously) two contrary views,
then I suppose you could justly label them a hypocrite. Few things in this
world are binary; there is an awful lot of gray area out there. Pardon me
if I mistakenly placed the line between the black and the white in the wrong
place on the *first* attempt.

......................................................................

On a happier note...

Thanks to all who have dropped by to see Corporeal Meadows. Also, I hope
everyone saw John Chalmer's forwarded msg from CRI in digest 808. I say
this because this is the first time *I* have seen "The Dreamer That Remains"
video at a reasonable cost ($34.95 vs. $300.00). I can't think of a better
answer for those people who ask "What was Harry Partch like, anyway?"
Hamming it up or not, you get a sense of how full of life he was!

But I'm an romantic old fart, anyhow...

Cheers, folks --
Jon
*--------------------------------------------------------------------*
Jonathan M. Szanto | Come visit Corporeal Meadows . . . . . . .
Backbeats & Interrupts | . . . . . . . . . our little Partch tribute.
jszanto@adnc.com | http://www.adnc.com/web/jszanto/welcome.html
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