A rich score drawn from wanderings in America

Kate Wakeling is captivated by the Partch Ensemble's compelling realisation of a truly original body of works

- Kate Wakeling

Partch

The Wayward Partch Ensemble Bridge BRIDGE961155:10 mins

Harry Partch was that rare thing of a true original. Born in California in 1901, Partch went on to create his own musical scale, construct his own (highly idiosyncratic) musical instruments and compose some of the strangest and most delightful music of the 20th century. This glorious disc from the Partch Ensemble brings to life one of Partch’s most intriguing and affecting series of works, The Wayward, in a world premiere recording.

Partch describes The Wayward as 'a collection of musical compositions based on the spoken and written words of hobos and other characters – the result of my wanderings in the Western part of the United States from 1935 to 1941'. This recording brings together, for the first time, all five pieces that comprise the ‘collection’. These range from the eight-movement work Barstow, which features lively spoken text (based on hitchhiker inscriptions from a highway railing in Barstow) heard above a spritely band of Partch’s custom instruments, to the more melancholy piece San Francisco, which evokes the chill of the city's mist.

It is a treat to hear so many of Partch’s original instruments on the album, including the Cloud Chamber Bowls (suspended perspex bowls struck with a beater), the Chromelodeon (a pump organ, retuned to fit Partch’s scale system) and the Castor and Pollux (a zither-like instrument with 44 strings). Instrumental performances throughout the record are precise and richly musical, while the vocal lines, which often teeter between the spoken and the sung, are delivered with terrific charm. It is a pleasure indeed to encounter music so alive with imagination and performed with such poise. ★★★★★

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Bacewicz