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Genesis of a Music
Among the few truly experimental composers in our cultural history, Harry Partch's life (1901–1974) and music embody most completely the quintessential American rootlessness, isolation, pre-civilized cult of experience, and dichotomy of practical invention and transcendental visions. Having lived mostly in the remote deserts of Arizona and New Mexico with no access to formal training, Partch naturally 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 (which owe nothing to the 300-year-old European tradition of Western music.) 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. Anyone with a musically creative attitude, whether or not familiar with traditional music theory, will find this book revelatory.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 24, 2015
As a young classical music student, I read this book cover-to-cover with real interest. I've also designed and built instruments for many years.
Harry Partch, who grew up in small-town Arizona before World War II, is a genuine part of Americana (and earthly music history, at least for insiders)... his explorations of "just intonation" and ways to musically exploit his own sense of 'obscure tonality' (or as it's currently labeled in music circles "microtonality"--i.e., more than 12 equal half-steps per octave) amounted to a pleasant adventure the first time I read them. In this, his magnum opus, Harry answers far more questions than he poses, a refreshing trait among authors and inventors. To those of us fascinated with such things, it's a real page-turner. The more one gets to know him, the more one realizes Harry had some very good ideas.
While Partch inspired a number of others to work in either his legacy [of using instruments tuned to 43 pitches per octave] to further promulgate his vision of a sort of modern take on Greek music composition (whence emanated what have come to be called the "church modes" meaning 'unusual' or non-major/minor scales) or to simply carry the torch for micro-tonality a bit farther down the highways (as for several years, he lived the "hobo" life) after his passing, Partch was apparently determined to not only make waves in the music world regardless of criticism, but to be willingly regarded as somewhat of an anachronism in, of all decades, the 1960s [when theoretically, "everything" was open to experiment] seems a bit tragic, even as he let his imagination soar to places quite "new" for the 1940s-60s, in my opinion.
I've listened to most of his commercial recordings, and while not all thrill me, the entirety of his output is to say the least interesting. In that sense this book doesn't disappoint. If however, you're not interested in fine points of music theory and new/old instrument building (e.g., he tweaks his viola rather extensively in early efforts to play what he hears only in his head), then this thick book may not be your bag of tea. Still it has its merits for the initiated.
Partch's partial use of found objects for building musical instruments had antecedents in many climes, however his overall scheme of emulating Greek musical theater to a visceral extent (he used the term "corporeal" for an all-encompassing stage experience combining visual and aural components) seems to me very unique, at least among American composers. He would "fit in" better today, when "recycling" is so popular for energy conservation, IMHO. Digital methods to madness like his would be both easier and cheaper (and hence perhaps less corporeal) in modern times. But modernity itself held no joy for him.
In his own time, he was, like it or not, very much an outlier. How "odd" then, that he ended up getting so much of his work performed and recorded! Nevertheless when it comes to American composers, Partch's work remains arguably well within the labels "obscure" and "quirky," but I would argue, at times certainly also joyful and occasionally rather transcendent, like this book. Four big stars.
Harry Partch, who grew up in small-town Arizona before World War II, is a genuine part of Americana (and earthly music history, at least for insiders)... his explorations of "just intonation" and ways to musically exploit his own sense of 'obscure tonality' (or as it's currently labeled in music circles "microtonality"--i.e., more than 12 equal half-steps per octave) amounted to a pleasant adventure the first time I read them. In this, his magnum opus, Harry answers far more questions than he poses, a refreshing trait among authors and inventors. To those of us fascinated with such things, it's a real page-turner. The more one gets to know him, the more one realizes Harry had some very good ideas.
While Partch inspired a number of others to work in either his legacy [of using instruments tuned to 43 pitches per octave] to further promulgate his vision of a sort of modern take on Greek music composition (whence emanated what have come to be called the "church modes" meaning 'unusual' or non-major/minor scales) or to simply carry the torch for micro-tonality a bit farther down the highways (as for several years, he lived the "hobo" life) after his passing, Partch was apparently determined to not only make waves in the music world regardless of criticism, but to be willingly regarded as somewhat of an anachronism in, of all decades, the 1960s [when theoretically, "everything" was open to experiment] seems a bit tragic, even as he let his imagination soar to places quite "new" for the 1940s-60s, in my opinion.
I've listened to most of his commercial recordings, and while not all thrill me, the entirety of his output is to say the least interesting. In that sense this book doesn't disappoint. If however, you're not interested in fine points of music theory and new/old instrument building (e.g., he tweaks his viola rather extensively in early efforts to play what he hears only in his head), then this thick book may not be your bag of tea. Still it has its merits for the initiated.
Partch's partial use of found objects for building musical instruments had antecedents in many climes, however his overall scheme of emulating Greek musical theater to a visceral extent (he used the term "corporeal" for an all-encompassing stage experience combining visual and aural components) seems to me very unique, at least among American composers. He would "fit in" better today, when "recycling" is so popular for energy conservation, IMHO. Digital methods to madness like his would be both easier and cheaper (and hence perhaps less corporeal) in modern times. But modernity itself held no joy for him.
In his own time, he was, like it or not, very much an outlier. How "odd" then, that he ended up getting so much of his work performed and recorded! Nevertheless when it comes to American composers, Partch's work remains arguably well within the labels "obscure" and "quirky," but I would argue, at times certainly also joyful and occasionally rather transcendent, like this book. Four big stars.
March 21, 2015
A fascinating read, providing a general and historic introduction into the reasoning behind Partch's investigations into and refinement of a more natural tuning system than the current standard equal temperament that we have been stuck to pretty much since the invention of the keyboard. The composer's written style is very similar to his natural speech, almost musical itself and a delight to read, at least in the earlier chapters.
The descriptions of the tuning system itself can become quite complex with numerous ratios, though the idea is clear enough that most of these sections are just trying to place the maths into a context that fits within contemporary music (e.g. this ratio is equivalent to a slightly flat G#).
A highlight, for me, were the detailed descriptions of the various instruments he has built over the years in order to be able to play the music. The only low point in the book was the chapter describing all the alternative attempts to break free of equal temperament using microtonal scales of various sorts. As this come straight after he has described his own means of dealing with the issue, it seems rather redundant.
The descriptions of the tuning system itself can become quite complex with numerous ratios, though the idea is clear enough that most of these sections are just trying to place the maths into a context that fits within contemporary music (e.g. this ratio is equivalent to a slightly flat G#).
A highlight, for me, were the detailed descriptions of the various instruments he has built over the years in order to be able to play the music. The only low point in the book was the chapter describing all the alternative attempts to break free of equal temperament using microtonal scales of various sorts. As this come straight after he has described his own means of dealing with the issue, it seems rather redundant.
December 16, 2020
Really comprehensive and insightful read on the extensive history of tuning/microtonal developments, going into the theory behind Partch's music and construction of instruments within his 11-limit, 43-note scale. Pretty dense as an introduction in some parts, and don't expect to keep up with all the mathematical ratios he throws out, but still a brilliant start point. Kind of baffles me how one person could have so much intuition, innovation, musical/historical knowledge, and realise all his arcane concepts compositionally with loads of clarity.
March 2, 2025
Important work and a useful reference, but I sometimes think Partch is more interested in clever prose than clear explanations.
December 16, 2020
It seems ridiculous to give a numerical ranking to a book this classic.
I last read this text almost a decade ago, and upon rereading it went by a lot quicker. A lot of the usual commentary focuses on the math, and indeed the first half or so of the book talks about the technical aspects of his tuning theories.
But, the second half is much more dependent on Partch's own personal character: he talks about his oeuvre; that is, his instruments and compositions. As much as I like math, it's hard to think mathematically when actually listening to Partch's music: the instruments are where the identity really resides. The opening of his video for US Highball is a good taste of this part of the book: the instruments are introduced with solos, like movie characters.
I last read this text almost a decade ago, and upon rereading it went by a lot quicker. A lot of the usual commentary focuses on the math, and indeed the first half or so of the book talks about the technical aspects of his tuning theories.
But, the second half is much more dependent on Partch's own personal character: he talks about his oeuvre; that is, his instruments and compositions. As much as I like math, it's hard to think mathematically when actually listening to Partch's music: the instruments are where the identity really resides. The opening of his video for US Highball is a good taste of this part of the book: the instruments are introduced with solos, like movie characters.
April 14, 2009
There's a lot of math here. S'ppose that's to be expected in a book about microtonality, sound frequencies, etc., and the 43-note scale Harry Partch eventually created for his music. And while that's cool, that's kind of like a painter spending a book writing about how he gets his pigments. It's better when he gets deeper into why he makes the choices he makes, describes how he designed/built his orchestra, and offers some of the tactile details of the music (like a chart detailing what empty bottles of booze ring at what frequencies, such that one might repair a Zymo-Xyl). Even fast-forwarding through the math, it's pretty dry. Bob Gilmore's bio is way better.
May 5, 2013
Microreview: Fascinating stuff reading about his thoughts on music, and the instruments he constructed to play his unique compositions. However, though I'm well-versed in mathematics, my grasp of formal music theory-- or maybe my lack of imagination-- was not enough for me to connect the dots and figure out how his math was used in creating new scales and such. I ended up skimming over a lot of the middle chapters. Still, the book is a valuable tool in trying to understand is music, and aids in appreciating it above and beyond the enjoyment of simply hearing it.
October 24, 2021
The treatise of a mad genius. Forces the reader to reconsider any conceptions of "high" vs "low" art in music, violently asserting the primordial psychological pre-eminence of the lyric over abstraction, and creating for himself a system of harmony, incomparable to and incompatible with any system devised since antiquity. His historic analysis is scholarly and convincing, his instrument designs are ingenious, and his footnotes are genuinely pretty funny. 5 stars for forcing me to think about fractions for the first time in a decade.
May 19, 2011
i love this book, and the time that i spent in san diego years ago studying partch's music and learning how to play the instruments. his unique vision is on par with someone like werner herzog's - a wholly original being in a sea of copycats. he's always been a huge inspiration and this book offers us a glimpse of the amazing music he left behind.
March 31, 2008
Two stars only because I didn't understand what the hell was going on. Then again, I guess my Philistine ears can't appreciate the beauty of the 43-tone scale and the 11-limit just intonation.
May 27, 2012
Not an easy read in many chapters, but a book I turn to again and again over the years by one of the few original composers and freethinkers.
December 29, 2019
I was introduced to Partch by serendipity. I borrowed the multi-LP set of Delusion of the Fury from the public library, knowing nothing about him or his music. (Yes, LPs! This was 1975 or so.) From the first listening, I was hooked. Then I got a copy of Genesis of a Music. I was a classical guitarist, with a couple of years of theory under my belt, so thought I might just be able to understand Partch's original notation, with its 43 note scale. I got through the autobiographical sections. Then I found myself drowning in the technical side of things. I understand it a bit better now, decades later. Mostly, I understand that Partch was a genius, building instruments, creating his own notation and soaking up musical influence, from 'Okie' fruit pickers to Chinese and gamelan music and more. He was one of the first composers to work with microtonal music.
Given all this, I would only recommend his book to those steeped in music theory (preferably at university level) or musicology. If you are a brave non-musician, or a musician without much or any theory there is still much that is interesting in the book, especially the full colour photos of his instruments. (I'm not sure what the paperback contains, however; mine is a hard cover from the seventies.) Everything else in the book would be tough going though, without advanced music theory. I must add that the review accompanying the book made an error. It claims that Partch had no formal training. In truth, he attended the University of Southern California's music department, dropping out in 1922, unimpressed by his professors, and, ultimately, disaffected by Western 'serious' music entirely. He had been composing traditionally since his teens, but burned all those compositions before creating his own scale and instruments.
Given all this, I would only recommend his book to those steeped in music theory (preferably at university level) or musicology. If you are a brave non-musician, or a musician without much or any theory there is still much that is interesting in the book, especially the full colour photos of his instruments. (I'm not sure what the paperback contains, however; mine is a hard cover from the seventies.) Everything else in the book would be tough going though, without advanced music theory. I must add that the review accompanying the book made an error. It claims that Partch had no formal training. In truth, he attended the University of Southern California's music department, dropping out in 1922, unimpressed by his professors, and, ultimately, disaffected by Western 'serious' music entirely. He had been composing traditionally since his teens, but burned all those compositions before creating his own scale and instruments.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews