Harry Partch

From his childhood in Tombstone, Arizona, Harry Partch learned the clarinet, harmonica, reed organ, and guitar under family guidance. As a largely self-directed composer he spent the opening years of the Depression traveling by rail. A pioneering voice in intonation theory, he published the landmark Genesis of a Music in 1949 and, beginning in 1938, devoted himself to designing and constructing original instruments. His microtonal operas, realized on these handmade devices, were frequently scored for performers who simultaneously sang, played, and danced. Many of his songs left pitch decisions open to the singer, foreshadowing the later New Narrative Opera. He also produced several forward-looking film scores, and in the late 1990s his work appeared in four volumes on the CRI label as well as the three-disc set Enclosure Five issued by Innova.