source file: mills2.txt Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 00:40:42 -0800 Subject: Re: Partch Research From: Daniel Wolf <106232.3266@compuserve.com> Re: Partch Research It is easy enough to find out what written sources Partch had and when: he used the California State Library in Sacramento, which through the 1950s was perhaps the most important reference library in the state and whose records should include acquisition dates. Clearly the most vital sources are Helmholtz/Ellis and Hawkins. Meyer, Cowell and Barbour were acquired during the development of the contemporary and historical surveys in his text. What would be more interesting is, however, to locate Partch´s musical sources. I have always been struck by the dense harmonic texture offered by the 6x6 diamond, which Partch makes even more dense through use of _non-harmonic_ pitches. Besides Protestant Hymns, Yaqui Indian songs, and Mandarin Lullabies, none of which is particularly rich in harmonic adventure, what was the _classical_ repertoire that Partch knew (beyond Chopin)? The other striking feature of Partch´s _system_ is his systemic symmetry. The other 20th century figure for whom symmetrical structures were essential was, of course, Schönberg, also predisposed to dense textures, although Schönberg derived his symmetries from variation technique and mapped them neatly into 12tet. (I should also note John Cage´s warning to me (ca 1981) about the use of symmetry in new music: _too often, symmetry indicates the absence of an idea_). Daniel Wolf Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Mon, 11 Nov 1996 17:23 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA04333; Mon, 11 Nov 1996 17:24:53 +0100 Received: from eartha.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA04325 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id IAA10891; Mon, 11 Nov 1996 08:24:49 -0800 Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 08:24:49 -0800 Message-Id: <75961111162257/0005695065PK1EM@MCIMAIL.COM> Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu