Genesis of a music ; an account of a creative work, its roots and its fulfillments.
| Author/creator | Partch, Harry |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | Second edition, enlarged. |
| Publication Info | New York : Da Capo Press, 1974. |
| Description | xxv, 517 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Part one: Corporeal versus abstract music. From Emperor Chun to the vacant lot -- American musical tendencies -- Part two: An introduction to intonation. Definitions pertaining to intonation -- The language of ratios -- Basic monophonic concepts -- Instruments for demonstration -- Part three: The resources of monophony. Analysis of the 5 limit -- Application of the 11 limit -- The one-footed bride -- The twenty-eight tonalities -- The question of resolution -- String and voice instruments and their notations -- Percussion instruments and their notations -- The backgrounds of six major works -- Part four: Intonations: historic, implied, proposed. A thumbnail sketch of the history of intonation -- Pythagoreanism -- Equal temperaments -- Just intonations -- Appendix I. Cents values of intervals ; Apendix II. Tonality relationships and common tones ; Appendix III. Music-theatre works-major performances ; Appendix IV. Bibliography on Harry Partch ; Appendix V. Recordings and films ; Appendix VI. Chronology of instruments. |
| Abstract | "The most controversial of all contemporary composers, Harry Partch has rejected not only the form and tonality of the 300 year-old symphonic tradition, but its theory, notation, and instrumentation as well. The only composer to write for instruments of his own design and construction, Partch has created a battery of stringed and percussive instruments which, in lesser hands, would function as mere gadgetry, but which he presses into the service of 'a sonoric imagination so vibrant and integrated that it can rightly be called genius.' Now in its second edition, Genesis of a Music provides the only definitive statement of Partch's unique philosophy of composition, including a 43-tone scale through which the musical effects of dissonance are intensified by the correct relationship of overtones. Since this provocative work was originally published in 1949, Partch has created many new works, and the major corpus of his music and theatre has been realized in performance. This revised and enlarged edition surveys Partch's recent experiments in musical form, media and style; it also features numerous illustrations of his extraordinary instruments and notation."--Dust jacket. |
| Local note | Little-97025 - $19.50 |
| Bibliography note | "Bibliography on Harry Partch": pages 475-483. |
| Bibliography note | Bibliography: pages 495-499. |
| Biographical note | "The most innovative composer of this century, Harry Partch was exposed in his early years to the nonconventional. Born in California to missionary parents who had spent many years in China, he was fascinated by Oriental culture. With an eye always to the exotic, he cites among his strongest musical influences Greek mythology, Christian hymns, Chinese lullabies, Yaqui Indian ritual, and Hebrew chants. As a boy of 14, he began writing dramatic music and by the time he was in his twenties, had already formulated his revolutionary theory and philosophy of music. At the age of 28, Partch abandoned his earlier musical output to a pot-bellied stove and a year later, wrote his first composition in the new method. A multifaceted artist, he composed for voice and one instrument the exciting transcontinental freight-train trip composition, U.S. Highball and shortly after the musical adaptation of W. B. Yeats' Oedipus, which he showed the poet in 1934. Because his music and instruments are unique, Harry Partch actively functions today as performer, tuner, repairman, adviser, and vocal and dramatic coach for his recordings and performances."--Dust jacket. |
| LCCN | 76087373 |
| ISBN | 030671597X |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML1400.P3 G4 1974 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |