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Genesis of a Music
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Among the few truly experimental composers in our cultural history, Harry Partch's life (1901–1974) and music embody most completely the quintessential American rootlessness, isolation, pre-civilized cult of experience, and dichotomy of practical invention and transcendental visions. Having lived mostly in the remote deserts of Arizona and New Mexico with no access to form
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Paperback, 544 pages
Published
August 22nd 1979
by Da Capo Press
(first published 1949)
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As a young classical music student, I read this book cover-to-cover with real interest. I've also designed and built instruments for many years.
Harry Partch, who grew up in small-town Arizona before World War II, is a genuine part of Americana (and earthly music history, at least for insiders)... his explorations of "just intonation" and ways to musically exploit his own sense of 'obscure tonality' (or as it's currently labeled in music circles "microtonality"--i.e., more than 12 equal half-step ...more
Harry Partch, who grew up in small-town Arizona before World War II, is a genuine part of Americana (and earthly music history, at least for insiders)... his explorations of "just intonation" and ways to musically exploit his own sense of 'obscure tonality' (or as it's currently labeled in music circles "microtonality"--i.e., more than 12 equal half-step ...more
A fascinating read, providing a general and historic introduction into the reasoning behind Partch's investigations into and refinement of a more natural tuning system than the current standard equal temperament that we have been stuck to pretty much since the invention of the keyboard. The composer's written style is very similar to his natural speech, almost musical itself and a delight to read, at least in the earlier chapters.
The descriptions of the tuning system itself can become quite com ...more
The descriptions of the tuning system itself can become quite com ...more
Really comprehensive and insightful read on the extensive history of tuning/microtonal developments, going into the theory behind Partch's music and construction of instruments within his 11-limit, 43-note scale. Pretty dense as an introduction in some parts, and don't expect to keep up with all the mathematical ratios he throws out, but still a brilliant start point. Kind of baffles me how one person could have so much intuition, innovation, musical/historical knowledge, and realise all his arc
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There's a lot of math here. S'ppose that's to be expected in a book about microtonality, sound frequencies, etc., and the 43-note scale Harry Partch eventually created for his music. And while that's cool, that's kind of like a painter spending a book writing about how he gets his pigments. It's better when he gets deeper into why he makes the choices he makes, describes how he designed/built his orchestra, and offers some of the tactile details of the music (like a chart detailing what empty bo
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Microreview: Fascinating stuff reading about his thoughts on music, and the instruments he constructed to play his unique compositions. However, though I'm well-versed in mathematics, my grasp of formal music theory-- or maybe my lack of imagination-- was not enough for me to connect the dots and figure out how his math was used in creating new scales and such. I ended up skimming over a lot of the middle chapters. Still, the book is a valuable tool in trying to understand is music, and aids in
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i love this book, and the time that i spent in san diego years ago studying partch's music and learning how to play the instruments. his unique vision is on par with someone like werner herzog's - a wholly original being in a sea of copycats. he's always been a huge inspiration and this book offers us a glimpse of the amazing music he left behind.
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Not an easy read in many chapters, but a book I turn to again and again over the years by one of the few original composers and freethinkers.
Mar 31, 2008
Lane Wilkinson
rated it
it was ok
Recommends it for:
microtonal composers
Recommended to Lane by:
Andrew
Two stars only because I didn't understand what the hell was going on. Then again, I guess my Philistine ears can't appreciate the beauty of the 43-tone scale and the 11-limit just intonation.
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I was introduced to Partch by serendipity. I borrowed the multi-LP set of Delusion of the Fury from the public library, knowing nothing about him or his music. (Yes, LPs! This was 1975 or so.) From the first listening, I was hooked. Then I got a copy of Genesis of a Music. I was a classical guitarist, with a couple of years of theory under my belt, so thought I might just be able to understand Partch's original notation, with its 43 note scale. I got through the autobiographical sections. Then I
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It seems ridiculous to give a numerical ranking to a book this classic.
I last read this text almost a decade ago, and upon rereading it went by a lot quicker. A lot of the usual commentary focuses on the math, and indeed the first half or so of the book talks about the technical aspects of his tuning theories.
But, the second half is much more dependent on Partch's own personal character: he talks about his oeuvre; that is, his instruments and compositions. As much as I like math, it's hard to th ...more
I last read this text almost a decade ago, and upon rereading it went by a lot quicker. A lot of the usual commentary focuses on the math, and indeed the first half or so of the book talks about the technical aspects of his tuning theories.
But, the second half is much more dependent on Partch's own personal character: he talks about his oeuvre; that is, his instruments and compositions. As much as I like math, it's hard to th ...more
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