[atlantaprog] Re: Play Harry Partch's instruments!

As an adjunct to the Harry Partch link I posted, I thought I would share an anecdote about the time I got to play some REAL Partch instruments (various gongs, cloud chamber bowls, etc.)...

It was back in the early 90s, My performance art group was doing a residency at a tiny off-Broadway theater and we arrived in our full-sized van as the previous show was loading out.

Now, as any NYer will attest, a full-size van in NY is a HOT commodity. The folks that were loading out were having to make do with cars & cabs to transport a whole bunch of props, sets, instruments and such (including a vintage theremin - the kind that looked like a big radio console). When they saw my van, they were quite anxious to enlist my help in hauling stuff. So I said sure, why not?

Turns out the main guy with this show was Tom O'Horgan. Theater afficianados might recognize his name as the director of the original Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair. He's been doing avant-garde theater and film for decades, and apparently he's quite well off. Most of the stuff was going to his apartment, which was an ENTIRE FLOOR of a flat-iron building (maybe THE flat iron bldg - can't recall) near Union Square.

We rode the elevator full of gear up and it opened right into his living room - approx 1000 sq feet jammed to the rafters with the most amazing collection of musical intruments you have ever seen - including a great many of Harry Partch's ORIGINALS! There was the afore-mentioned Theremin (one of Bob Moog's I learned later), a marimba made ENTIRELY of glass (mallets, bars, resonators, frame, everything), gongs of every possible size and description, horns, exotic strings and drums, pianofortes and harpsichords - even a few vintage synths... and the cool part was that he invited me to hang out as long as I want and play on things. If I hadn't had a show to do, I would probably still be there!


On Apr 28, 2005, at 8:12 PM, Allen Welty-Green wrote:

http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/features/feature_partch.html#




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