the Chromelodeon! the Zymo-Xl! the Spoils of War!

June 6, 2003 8:13 AM

Playthe instruments of Harry Partch online! (Some assembly required.) My favorite: the chromelodeon -- 43 tones per octave! For more background, see this prior Partch post.
posted by UlfMagnet (6 comments total)

Harry Partch! The name itself is music to the ear!
posted by orange swan at 8:23 AM on June 6, 2003

More info about musicmavericks.org in a NYTimes article here.
posted by UlfMagnet at 8:23 AM on June 6, 2003

This is superb.

I heard some of the arrangements the Kronos quartet played (as referenced in the previous post) only a couple of days. The music stands up surprisingly well, but a couple of minutes on this site shows you the amount that's lacking from those interpretations. The timbre of some of these instruments is just wonderful.
posted by monkey closet at 8:24 AM on June 6, 2003

This is *AWESOME*! Thanks, UlfMagnet! I was a percussion major in college, and have always been obsessed with the instruments of Harry Partch, and now I can actually play them! (well, sorta...)
posted by emptybowl at 8:48 AM on June 6, 2003

I remember years ago learning that the "well tempered" scale was in fact out of tune. My kneejerk reaction was that we should fix it! I was then told about Harry Partch.
posted by ilsa at 11:36 AM on June 6, 2003

Wow!
there goes my afternoon...
posted by 2sheets at 11:24 AM on June 7, 2003