“This hour with the master sheds light on his theories, his art, and his genius…It is a beautifully conceived and executed release…a valuable historic artifact and a “fetish level” collectible…(Of course you can get the excellent recording and the texts, learned liner notes, and historical photos on a pdf file, the recording on a digital file, but collectors will long cherish this museum quality document. Suffice it to say that some of my Christmas shopping is done now.)
…So whether you just want to hear the performance or want to own this objet d’art in all its glory this is a fine way to introduce yourself or a friend to this unique American genius.”
— New Music Buff
Harry Partch, 1942 provides a wealth of material that illuminates an active and highly developed intellect that will cause even the most doubtful listener to reconsider the value of his work… a brilliantly organized portrait of the events in a critical year for Harry Partch – and for new music in general. This handsome book, with its meticulously engineered CD, belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who is studying or working in alternate tuning.
— Sequenza 21
“A real gem…”
— New Music Buff
“Stunning…when I got to the end of the CD and picked my jaw up off the floor…it sounds like something Tom Waits might have performed at a late night dive bar open mic on a snowy Tuesday night in December.”
—Audiophile
“Now, this priceless recording, its sound brushed up into its Sunday best, is where it belongs – before the public…It’s so much sheer fun that you’ll want to keep coming back to it.”
“…done…with a brand of reverence, scholarship, and quality of both recording and performances such that this is a collector’s dream and a major contribution to the history of microtonal musics and American music in general.”
“The ensemble PARTCH…has made it a habit to unlock the mysteries and sounds of its namesake composer…his creations really require a new vocabulary. The members of PARTCH certainly speak it, whatever “it” may be.”
The ensemble PARTCH is as true to the letter and spirit of Partch’s music as his own groups, and John Schneider’s intoned vocals even sound like Partch.
The real fun begins, however, with “U. S. Highball,” which, along with “Barstow,” is a “hobo” composition. The film alternates between the ensemble performing the composition and footage of the sorts of freight trains and railroad yards around which hobo life and transportation were based. I have now seen this film several times and have no qualms about saying how exhilarating I find each viewing.
– Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio
It’s some of the best introductory material… Anyone interested in the American avant-garde will appreciate this.
