Re: Harry Partch's 100th birthday

Hello, there, everyone, with best wishes to Harry Partch on his 100th
birthday, and to all who have contributed to his musical tradition.

Back around 1974 or 1975, I visited someone who invited me to hear the
music of a composer named Harry Partch, and who shared with me a
record album showing some of the instruments. I was fascinated with
the music, and what stuck with me at the time was no so much any focus
on "microtonality" or "just intonation," but the idea of someone
actually designing all of these new and original instruments and
bringing together an assortment of world musical traditions to create
a very distinctive art.

Curiously, in some ways, my approach may be quite different than
Partch's, so that this auspicious day is also an opportunity to
celebrate diversity. At the same time, I recognize that Partch has
played an instrumental role -- pun intended -- in getting "on the
radar screen" some of the ratios which I favor in my own music, even
in a "neo-Pythagorean" fashion which might or might not fit Partch's
own outlook and high art of "Monophony."

Of course, that art isn't _only_ the music -- any more than the opera
or oratorio of the era around 1600, or the kind of theatrical
performance which at least I enjoy envisioning for the _Roman de
Fauvel_ around 1316, can be represented by the notes alone.

When I heard some of Partch's music some 25 years ago at that friend's
house, among the pieces were his settings of hobo-related texts.
Looking back, I reflect on what might have been a fateful encounter in
his life between Walt Whitman's joyous tradition of "The Open Road"
and the brutal reality of the Depression in the U.S.A., when poverty
could be literally a crime.

To honor Harry Partch, in however modest a way, I would like to share
a MIDI file of a just intonation progression which I hope may bring
some enjoyment to people on this List upon this auspicious occasion:

http://value.net/~mschulter/xgji001.mid

Most appreciatively,

Margo Schulter
mschulter@value.net

MARGO!

Enough with the samples, i want a CD!

Beautiful progression, just awesome.

Do you have anything available? Sorry if this is a FAQ.

Beautiful Bonita Konshecse.

GZ

>
>
> To honor Harry Partch, in however modest a way, I would like to share
> a MIDI file of a just intonation progression which I hope may bring
> some enjoyment to people on this List upon this auspicious occasion:
>
> http://value.net/~mschulter/xgji001.mid
>
> Most appreciatively,
>
> Margo Schulter
> mschulter@value.net
>
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