PARTCH Ensemble and Del Sol Quartet premiere “One-Footed” by Taylor Brook

Live at REDCAT Theater in Los Angeles on June 17, 2022.

Program note by Taylor Brook:

The title of this work refers to a fascinating chart in Harry Partch’s Genesis of a Music: “The One-footed Bride.” Resembling the outline of a foot, this chart marks out just intervals and their inversions along either side of a central axis. In this chart, one finds diatonic interval regions associated with expressive qualities; seconds and sevenths with “approach,” thirds and sixths with “emotion,” perfect fourths and fifths with “power,” and the tritone region with “suspense.” While highly subjective, there’s a certain intuitive sense to these pairings. Even more fascinating for me was how Partch fits his 43-note scale into a diatonic structure. What this suggests is that we might understand the many intervals of Partch’s scale as shadings within each region. This became the foundation of my piece, One-footed: an exploration of the expressive potential of thinking about pitch and interval in this way. The instrumentation for One-footed combines a string quartet with many of Partch’s famous instruments. As a composer writing in 2021 I enjoy the legacy of composers like Partch and Ben Johnston, where performers like the Del Sol Quartet now deeply understand just intonation, and I see the PARTCH ENSEMBLE as a whole new type of orchestra that can finally be bridged to as a result. One-footed was written for the combined forces of Del Sol Quartet and PARTCH Ensemble in 2020-2021.

This performance was made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

We also acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Partch 1942 (2022)

1942 was a pivotal year for Harry Partch. After more than a decade of obscure but steadfast devotion to his unique musical vision, his bold move from the idyllic isolation of California’s Big Sur to the busy streets of Chicago brought him new recognition, putting him before a series of audiences across the Northeast. Those performances were the springboard that soon catapulted him onto the stage of Carnegie Hall, the pages of the New York Times, and eventually secured his place in the pantheon of great 20th Century composers.

Luckily, one presentation of his radically new “Speech Music” was recorded at the Eastman School of Music. These long lost direct-to-disc recordings reveal not only a charismatic lecturer but also a powerful performer, able to transform his arcane theories into captivating music. These are the earliest recordings of this unforgettable repertoire—including Partch’s only solo recording of his famed hitchhiker saga Barstow—captured in stunningly intimate detail. The Grammy winning author & producer traces the composer’s arduous steps, aided by facsimiles of his letters, scores, and rare photographs, revealing Partch’s tenacious wit, dark sense of humor, and above all, his unfailing creative genius. LIMITED EDITION: Hardbound book, 72 pages, 38 photographs

Continue reading “Partch 1942 (2022)”

Instrument Discussions: Marimba Eroica

PARTCH Ensemble Artistic Director John Schneider discusses the Marimba Eroica with T.J. Troy, highlighting two distinct versions of the instrument designed by American Maverick composer Harry Partch, followed by an in-depth discussion of the construction, tuning, and performance issues surrounding PARTCH Ensemble’s own instrument, based off of Partch’s second design.

Public domain footage courtesy of The Internet Archive

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Instrument Discussions: Spoils of War

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PARTCH Ensemble Artistic Director John Schneider discusses the Spoils of War with T.J. Troy, detailing the evolution and application of the most complex and seemingly disparate instruments invented by American Maverick composer Harry Partch.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.SHOW LESS

Making Music: T.J. Troy

T.J. Troy discusses his composition “Five-Corner Square” for the Partch Mallet Trio, including Bass Marimba, Boo, and Diamond Marimba. Together with Artistic Director John Schneider, T.J. discusses the idiosyncratic behaviors and melodic tendencies that informed his part writing for each individual instrument, as well as the broader rhythmic and harmonic schemes employed across the entire work.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Making Music: Alex Wand

Alex Wand discusses his composition “Darkness within darkness” for Partch’s Adapted Guitar I, Gourd Tree, Cello, and two Vocalists. Together with Artistic Director John Schneider, they discuss the inspiration behind the work, the sourcing of libretto from Lao Tsu’s “Tao Te Ching,” and the unique manner Alex combines elements of contemporary music, folk music, and Partch’s exquisite intonation to create an ethereal, otherworldly venture into what Alex calls “the darkness that is the eternal Tao.”

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Making Music: John Schneider

John Schneider discusses his composition “Listening to Lu Tzu” for Partch’s Adapted Guitar II. Together with Ensemble President T.J. Troy, John discusses the history and inspiration behind the work, the enhanced techniques applied to create this ethereal mood, and general notions about composing for Harry Partch’s Adapted Guitar II.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Instrument Discussions: Cloud Chamber Bowls

PARTCH Ensemble Artistic Director John Schneider discusses the Cloud Chamber Bowls with T.J. Troy, resident Bass Marimbist, detailing the history, construction, and musical capability of the Bowls, one of the instruments invented by American Maverick composer Harry Partch.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

PARTCH Ensemble PREMIERES – Encore Access

We are very pleased to now offer this concert online through a special Encore Access portal: for a nominal fee of just $10, patrons can view the entire concert with unlimited access from the comfort of their own home, at any time of day or night. 

Click the button below and purchase access to this very special event, and enjoy unlimited views of the groundbreaking PARTCH Ensemble PREMIERES.

Patrons who purchased tickets for the original REDCAT event can redeem their ticket for free Encore Access! Simply email our site administrator at [email protected] and you will receive a free Encore Access code via email.

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Dark Brother

Music by Harry Partch (1901-1974)
Final two paragraph’s of Thomas Wolfe’s “God’s Lonely Man.”

Performers:
Alison Bjorkedal – Kithara I
Vicki Ray – Chromolodeon
Derek Stein – Adapted Viola
T.J. Troy – Bass Marimba and Voice
Video captured and edited by Video Angel Productions
Audio recorded by Chris Votek

Presented by Jacaranda Music Series, First Presbyterian Church, Santa Monica, CA, November 9, 2019.

Color Theory (2017)

by PRISM Quartet and Sō Percussion

Music for Saxophones, Percussion and Harry Partch Instruments

World Premiere of “Future Lilacs” (2016) by Ken Ueno

Color Theory Concert: PRISM Quartet and Partch

Ken Ueno: My work, “Future Lilacs,” metaphorically connects to color theory in blending different temperaments. It is the scientific reduction of sounds to a common denominator (thinking in terms of frequencies rather than scales) that helps me with this approach, which I consider a Newtonian way of rationalizing the ineffable.

June 12, 2016

Co-Presented by PRISM Quartet and Roulette

O Frabjous Day

PARTCH Ensemble performs “O Frabjous Day.”

Set to poem of the same name, by Lewis Carroll

Music composed by Harry Partch

Live at the REDCAT Theater, Los Angeles, CA

Castor & Pollux

A wild ride in Disney Hall as Music of Microtonal Composer/Inventor Harry Partch Is performed on amazing Instruments by PARTCH, an acclaimed ensemble Under the direction of John Schneider, -Noted Musician, Educator, Founder of Microfest, He hosts the KPFK weekly Radio Show “Global Village” and also hosted the “SOUNDBOARD TV series.

Ulysses at the Edge of the World

Harry Partch’s Ulysses at the Edge of the World, originally written for jazz trumpeter Chet Baker and subtitled “A Minor Adventure in Rhythm,” also exists in multiple versions. In its 4th and final incarnation, the composer joined trumpet and baritone sax to honor the popular Chet Baker/Gerry Mulligan duo [he was a fan], replacing the initial double bass part with the Bass Marimba. Syncopations and time signatures of five and seven easily predate Dave Brubeck, culminating in a pithy punchline that features a cop arresting the titular homeless Greek hero for vagrancy.