Harry Partch - BBC Documentary - Part 6 of 6

[Enantiodromialist]

To the REAL weirdos like me:

Believe it or not, here is a missing link between Harry Partch and Ferruccio Busoni –

the pianist Gunnar Johannsen (sp?) — student of Egon Petri and grandstudent of Busoni, and one of two people to record the Concerto (that I know of) *before* John Ogdon — was a friend of Partch (I don’t recall how) in his mid-state-California wilderness years, and even gave Partch — of all things — a piano crate to store his instruments in.

[FHUmusic]

Thank you for posting this. I only knew Partch from a textbook. It's nice to put a man with the name.

[jomotok]

i've had a lot of fun listening to a SyZyGys record recently (i guess who make 43-note octave pop tunes with various outside influences) and it's ace to learn about the guy who kicked things off. ta.

[SeadogDriftwood]

One of the - if not THE greatest musical experimenters in history. But that's not saying much, and sounds kinda dismissive.

Y'know, just give a listen to his work "U.S. Highball", and you'll hear what makes him great.

[Enantiodromialist]

@SeadogDriftwood If you’re looking for something less dismissive, “one of the greatest people who ever lived” works just fine. He took one of the oldest, most complex, abstract, and elevated disciplines known to man & literally reinvented it from the ground up to a level of high sophistication (“Castor and Pollux” & “And on the Seventh Day, Petals Fell in Petaluma”, in particular, are supreme marvels of counterpoint and formal elegance that put Bach and Mozart to shame). A hero among heros.

[Melechkibitzer]

I understand. and it hurts and it feels great at the same time.

[amatorynumber]

why did the likes of Schönberg make it to the history books and not this guy? I am not saying Schönberg doesnt deserve the honour, but this makes me think history books are wrong... well, I knew it all along, this is just another example. Wonderful man!!!

[gmatusk]

@amatorynumber Two of the standard reference works on music, Groves and Baker's, do not ignore Partch. Nicolas Slonimsky, as editor of "Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians," was obviously enthusiastic about Partch and the subject of non-standard systems of tuning.

[amatorynumber]

@gmatusk When I said 'the history books' I didn't quite mean the Groves dictionary of music and musicians... Still, thanks for the tip!!! :-)

[Herooftimex]

i learned about this man about 2 hours ago. He is fascinating. great documentary!

[zzajlatem9501]

very good documentary. informative and videos look good. thanks for uploading.

[hctee]

this documentary was absolutely fantastic; i'd only known about partch as an influence on glenn branca, who has greatly influenced me. learning about partch's methods and experimentation has been wonderful: uplifting and inspiring. especially the 40s-era music with lyrics about his time on the road. a combination of experimental music and verbal meaning. proves the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. thank you for uploading this.

[paydayping]

xoxoxoxoxoxox all my vibrations xoxoxoxox

[unmusica]

Having watched all 6 parts of this documentary, I must thank you!

Just a few months before Partch died I bought the Columbia Masterworks album of his work, and loved "Daphne of the Dunes" best; then a few years ago I bought a VHS tape of the Partch movies including "Music Studio."

I have tried my hand at building instruments and alternative tunings, which has only increased my respect for this man.

I would love to find some of those albums he made in a used vinyl shop!

[Q2W3e4r5tss]

DO NOT LOITER!!

[erinmerle]

Thanks for uploading this. Partch is wonderful!

[Gesmehod]

Well that was certainly interesting and weird. Not sure how I feel about it.

[dahwang12]

Thank you so much for this documentary. Harry Partch is a man that never should be forgotten.

[znotty]

who could make an argument for schizophrenia,Homeless,alcohol­ic,talking in two voices,yep!

[JesustheLizard]

this is a treasure, thanks for posting this!!!!

[DrSanders00]

i haven't been able to get into much of his music, but 'delusion of the fury' just takes me to another world -- his world! a big inspiration for my music.

[firstritestelevision]

i like how he freaked out on his lover just like a crazy man artist and the story about san diego

[karlgrossman]

Watched all six parts. What a great open mind Harry Partch had! As for us listeners, it 'might' be the old saying, "it must have been really fun to play" - meaning it wasn't an easy listen. You don't have to 'choose' between Harry's sonic world and harmonic music, but enjoy it all. We CAN hear microtones in a blues guitarist's bends... I love Harry's vision of being 'corporeal' with music, let it move you, and your music will move others

[gschifini]

thank for the post I have never seen

this great film about Partch

by the way on sept 29 New Band is performing "On the Seventh Day Petals fell in Petaluma" in Montclair NJ.

google New Band

[ShockTheseTrees]

Ooh, nice! Thanks for bringing that up, I didn't know about it. I'm definitely going to try and attend that.

[Celloluv]

I enjoyed these greatly, thanks so much, been into Partch since a teen.

[satorian]

Partch was emo!!! Lol

[JesustheLizard]

lol. What isn't based in emotions?

[satorian]

Come on people... you guys have no sense of humor or what?

[emtube]

It does my heart good to know that the soul of Harry Partch lives on in his fans who contribute comments to this excellent documentary. Thanks so much for posting. What a gift!

[wesleyan97]

That director, Pouliot, looks like a middle-aged Jake Gyllenhaal.

[tarhun]

you are coming from... the future? :O

[Bamergon]

on the money.

[ShockTheseTrees]

Yes the college is very close to me. I often want to go and see them but I have not yet gotten around to it. I'm glad I have the option tough, who would have thought they'd end up in NJ?

[gregg827]

Cool documentary. Just to provide an epilogue, the instruments are now living in the basement of Kasser Theater at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Dean Drummond is the one in charge of the instruments now and he runs his ensemble, Newband (which is seen in this video) and he leads the Harry Partch Ensemble at MSU.

[grofinet]

Great stuff! Thank you very much and merry christmas.