HARRY PARTCH

Music and Musical Theatre Works

Seventeen Lyrics by Li Po (1930-1933) text from
Shigeyoshi Obata: The Works
of Li Po, the Chinese Poet --- for adapted viola & intoning voice

Two Psalms (1931) for

The Lord is My Shepherd (1931) for adapted viola & intoning voice
By the Rivers of Babylon (1931/41) originally for adapted viola &
intoning voice; kithara
& chromelodeon added in 1955

The Potion Scene (from Shakespeare's Romeo and

Juliet) (1931/1955)
originally for adapted viola & intoning voice; chromelodeon, kithara,
bass marimba,
marimba eroica & two high female voices added in 1955

The Wayward texts by Harry Partch

Barstow (1941/1954/1967) originally adapted guitar & voice;
rewritten for two voices,
surrogate kithara, chromelodeon, diamond marimba & boo in 1955
San Francisco (1943) for two baritones, adapted viola, kithara
& chromelodeon
The Letter (1943) for intoning voice, kithara, harmonic
canon,surrogate kithara,
diamond marimba, bass marimba (There was an earlier version
which has been lost)
U.S. Highball (1943/1955) originally for voice, adapted guitar,
kithara &
chromelodeon; rewritten in 1955 for "Subjective" Voice (Tenor-
baritone), one or more
 "Objective" voices (mostly) baritone, kithara, surrogate kithara, two
harmonic canons,
chromelodeon, diamond marimba, boo, spoils of war, cloud
chamber bowls, bass
marimba, & bloboy

Yankee Doodle Fantasy (1944) for soprano, tin flutes, tin

oboe, flex-a-tones &
chromelodeon

Dark Brother (1942-3) text from Thomas Wolfe: God's Lonely Man
--- for intoning voice,
chromelodeon, adapted viola & kithara; bass marimba was added
later

Two Settings from Joyce's Finnegan's Wake

(1944) for soprano,
kithara & two flutes
Isobel
Annah the Allmaziful

"I'm very happy to be telling you about this..."

(1945) text from
broadcast transcription of glider pilot Warren Ward --- for soprano,
baritone, kithara &
Indian drum; score has been lost

Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales (1946)

originally for harmonic canon;
bass marimba added later

Eleven Intrusions(1949-50)
Nos. 1 & 2 are Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales
3. The Rose text by Ella Young --- for intoning voice, guitar &
diamond marimba
4. The Crane text by Tsuryuki-Waley --- for intoning voice, guitar &
diamond marimba
5. The Waterfall text by Ella Young --- for intoning voice, guitar &
diamond marimba
6. The Wind text by Ella Young/Lao-tze --- for intoning voice,
harmonic canon & bass
marimba
7. The Street text by Willard Motley --- for intoning voice, harmonic
canon & bass marimba
8. Lover text by George Leite --- for intoning voice, soprano, two
adapted guitars, cloud
chamber bowls & bass marimba
9. Soldiers---War---Another War text by Ungaretti --- for
intoning voice, harmonic canon,
adapted guitar, diamond marimba cloud chamber bowls & bass
marimba
10. Vanity text by Ungaretti --- for intoning voice and three adapted
guitars
11. Cloud-Chamber Music with Cancion de los Muchachos from
the Zuni Indians --- for
intoning voice, adapted viola, two adapted guitars, kithara, diamond
marimba, cloud
chamber bowls, bass marimba, deer-hoof rattle & chorus of
musicians

Ring Around the Moon (1949-1950) text by Harry Partch ---

for baritone, harmonic
canon, two adapted guitars, kithara, chromelodeon, diamond
marimba, cloud chamber
bowls, bass marimba, marimba eroica, cymbal

Oedipus(1950/1952-4/1967) text from play by Sophocles; first

version: libretto
adapted from William Butler Yeats; 2nd & 3rd versions: libretto by
Harry Partch --- for bass
(Oedipus), bass-baritone (Tiresias and the Herdsman), low soprano
(Jocasta),
tenor-baritone (Chorus Spokesman), chorus of six sopranos,
clarinet, bass clarinet,
adapted viola, adapted cello, two adapted guitars, double bass,
kithara, two harmonic
canons, two chromelodeons, cloud chamber bowls, gourd tree,
cone gongs, diamond
marimba, bass marimba & marimba eroica
Introduction
Opening Scene
First Chorus
Tiresias Scene
Second Chorus
Creon Scene
Jocasta Scene
Incidental Music
Third Chorus
Messenger Scene
Fourth Chorus
Herdsman Scene
Oedipus Scene
Fifth Chorus
Instrumental Commentary
Antiphony
Exit Oedipus: Dance Pantomime
Final Chorus and Coda

Castor and Pollux (1952) for kithara, surrogate kithara,

harmonic canon,
diamond marimba, cloud chamber bowls & bass marimba (two
players)

Even Wild Horses (1952) text from Rimbaud's A Season in Hell

--- baritone, adapted
viola, adapted guitar, kithara, four harmonic canons,
chromelodeon, diamond marimba,
bass marimba, cloud chamber bowls, spoils of war, Japanes
temple bell

Two Studies from Lewis Carroll (1954)

The Mock Turtle Song for singing-intoning voice, surrogate kithara
& spoils of war
O Frabjous Day! (The Jabberwock) for intoning voice, harmonic
canon & bass marimba

Ulysses at the Edge (1955) alto saxophone or trumpet,

baritone saxophone,
diamond marimba, boo, cloud chamber bowls & speaking rhythmic
voice

The Bewitched for solo soprano (the Witch), piccolo,

clarinet, bass clarinet,
cello, kithara, two harmonic canons, koto, surrogate kithara,
chromelodeon, cloud chamber
bowls, spoils of war, diamond marimba, boo, bass marimba,
marimba eroica, chorus of
musicians & approximately ten dancers
Prologue. The Lost Musicians Mix Magic
Scene 1. Three Undergraduates Become Transfigured in a
Hong Kong Music Hall
Scene 2. Exercises in Harmony and Counterpoint Are Tried
in a Court of Ancient
Ritual
Scene 3. The Romancing of a Pathological Liar Comes to an
Inspired End
Scene 4. A Soul Tormented by Contemporary Music Finds a
Humanizing
Alchemy
Scene 5. Visions Fill the Eyes of a Defeated Basketball Team
in the Shower
Room
Scene 6. Euphoria Descends a Sausalito Stairway
Scene 7. Two Detectives on the Trail of a Tricky Culprit Turn
in Their Badges
Scene 8. A Court in Its Own Contempt Rises to a Motherly
Apotheosis
Scene 9. A Lost Political Soul Finds Himself Among the
Voteless Women of
 Paradise
Scene 10. The Cognoscenti Are Plunged Into a Demonic
Descent While at
Cocktails
Epilogue

Windsong (1955) for film by Madeline Tourtelot

rewritten as
Daphne of the Dunes (1967) for dance...for kithara, surrogate
kithara, four
harmonic canons, chromelodeon, diamond marimba, boo, spoils of
war, bass marimba,
cloud chamber bowls, adapted viola, gourd tree & cone gongs plus
pre-recorded tape of
harmonic canons, kithara, diamond marimba & boo---

Revelations in the Courthouse Park---

after The Bacchae
of Euripides (1960) a "double-tale" which alternates between The
Bacchae and a
modern parallel, set in the "Courthouse Park" with text by Harry
Partch. The cast doubles
between parallel characters.

The Cast:
Baritone: Dion, Hollywood king of the Ishbu Kubu
Dionysos, ancient god of the Bacchae---the same
person
Tenor baritone: Sonny, young man in the Courthouse Park
Pentheus, young king of ancient Thebes---the
same person
Soprano: Mom, devotee of Ishbu Kubu and mother of Sonny
Agave, leader of the Theban Bacchae and mother
of Pentheus---the same
person
Contralto: Korypheus, leader of the Chorus of the Bacchae
Chorus of eight women (including Korypheus) who follow Dion &
Dionysos
Chorus of four men
 Cadmus, Tiresias, the Herdsman, the Guard, who must speak
rhythmically

Entertainers in the Courthouse Park:

Band: 2 piccolos, 3 trumpets, 2trombones, tuba, snare drum &
bass drum
2 guitarists, 4 twirlers & majorettes, 8 clog dancers (4 men, 4
women), 4 tumblers

Other instrumental parts: 2 kitharas, 3 harmonic canons, double bass,

crychord, 2 adapted
guitars, adapted viola, 2 chromelodeons, bloboy, spoils of war,
diamond marimba, boo,
marimba eroica (2 players), cloud chamber bowls & cone gongs (2
players), bass marimba
(2 players), drone devils (jaw harps), pre-recorded tape

Rotate the Body in All Its Planes (1961) music for an

exhibition of gymnasts
--- for most of the instruments used in Revelations in the
Courthouse Park

Bless This Home (1961) text by Vincenzo Prockelo --- for

intoning voice, oboe,
adapted viola, kithara, harmonic canon & mazda marimba

Water! Water! (1961) text by Harry Partch --- although this

large music theatre
work was performed three times during 1962, Partch considered it
an unfinished work

And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell

in
Petaluma (1963-66) for adapted guitar, 2 kitharas, surrogate
kithara, 5 harmonic
canons, 2 chromelodeons, bloboy, koto, crychord, diamond
marimba, bass marimba,
 marimba eroica, boo, cloud chamber bowls, spoils of war, gourd
tree, cone gongs, mazda
marimba, zymo-xyl, drone devils, gubagubi

Delusion of the Fury---A Ritual of

Dream and Delusion (1965-66) --- 2 acts
performed without a break
Act I based on an 11th century Japanese story---historical,
legendary & intensely serious
Act II based on an African folk tale---highly farcical
The cast (3 principals):
Tenor-baritone: The Slayer, in Act I
The Young Vagabond, in Act II---the same person
Soprano: The Son, in Act I
The Old Goat Woman, in Act II---the same person
Bass: The Slain as a Ghost, in Act I
The Justice of the Peace, in Act II---the same
person
Numerous dancers/mime actors
Instrumental ensemble: adapted guitar, 2 chromelodeons, 2 kithars,
surrogate kithara,
5 harmonic canons, bloboy, koto, crychord,diamond marimba,
quadrangularis reversum,
bass marimba, marimba eroica, boo, eucal blossom, gourd tree,
cone gongs, cloud
chamber bowls, spoils of war, zymo-xyl, mazda marimba, ugumbo,
waving drums, Bolivian
double flute, mbira, ektara, rotating drum, belly drums, gourd drum,
6 bamboo claves,
4 eucalyptus claves & rhythm boat

The Dreamer That Remains---A Study in

Loving (1972) text by Harry
Partch --- for narrating/intoning voice, chorus, fifteen instruments

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