Harry Partch: Genesis of a Music, 2nd ed. (1949/1974)

Having lived mostly in the remote deserts of Arizona and New Mexico with no access to formal training, the microtonal composer Harry Partch (1901-74) created theatrical ritualistic works incorporating Indian chants, Japanese kabuki and Noh, Polynesian microtones, Balinese gamelan, Greek tragedy, dance, mime, and sardonic commentary on Hollywood and commercial pop music of modern civilization. First published in 1949, Genesis of a Music is the manifesto of Partch’s radical compositional practice and instruments. He contrasts Abstract and Corporeal music, proclaiming the latter as the vital, emotionally tactile form derived from the spoken word (like Greek, Chinese, Arabic, and Indian musics) and surveys the history of world music at length from this perspective. Parts II, III, and IV explain Partch’s theories of scales, intonation, and instrument construction with copious acoustical and mathematical documentation.

First published in 1949
Publisher Da Capo Press, 1974
ISBN 030680106X
517 pages
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