Playing Harry Partch's unusual instruments, Newband throws out a unique array of pitches
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Composer Harry Partch playing his Chromelodeon in 1972. -
Dean Drummond, Newband director, on his Zoomoozophone. -
Surrogate Kithara from the Harry Partch instrument collection. -
The Zoomoozophone, an instrument created by Dean Drummond inspired by composer Harry Partch (but not one of Partch's original instruments) for his group, NewBand. -
Bill Ruyle performing on the Diamond Marimba from the Harry Partch instrument collection.
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Many 20th-century composers tried to tear down the status quo. Harry Partch was more interested in building upon it.
Considered a maverick -- although in many senses he was more traditional than even the most reactionary composer -- Partch had a musical vision that prompted him to expand the number of pitches within the octave beyond 12 and to build his own instruments to play his works.
Although unknown to most today, Partch (1901-74) influenced a wide range of contemporary songwriters and composers, from Tom Waits and Beck to American microtonalists such as Ben Johnston, Dean Drummond and Pitt's Mathew Rosenblum.
"Partch is in a category all by himself, which is why he sometimes gets lost as the various compositional trends go in and out of fashion," says Mr. Rosenblum. "He opened up the available sound world, as did [John] Cage and [Edgar] Varese, but in a different way, a pitch-centered way. His instruments are visually and sonically completely unique."
PG AUDIO- Excerpt from Harry Partch's Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales, for harmonic canon & bass marimba
- Excerpt from Harry Partch's Castor and Pullox
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Where: New Hazlett Theater, North Side.
Tickets: $20: 412-394-3353 or www.proartstickets.org.
The latter have joined forces to create a rare opportunity to hear Partch's fascinating yet unwieldy instruments -- such as the Surrogate Kithara, Cloud-Chamber Bowls, Diamond Marimba and Chromelodeon -- away from their home at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Thanks to collaboration between Pitt's Music on the Edge series and The Andy Warhol Museum, some of the Partch collection will travel to Pittsburgh to be played on Saturday by Mr. Drummond's ensemble, Newband. Work by him, Mr. Rosenblum and two seminal works by Partch are included in the program.
"Since 9-11 it has been difficult to travel abroad because freight security requirements make transporting the instruments much more expensive than it used to be," says Mr. Drummond. "That said, we have performed as far west as San Francisco and as far east as Berlin, Germany. The Pittsburgh concert involves nine musicians and only a part of the collection."
First Published March 16, 2011 12:00 am
