XCI. PARTCH, Harry: Sonata Dementia

XCI. PARTCH, Harry (1901-1974)

Sonata Dementia (1950)
PARTCH
(10:21)

As you can see by clicking on his name, Partch has (finally) achieved the recognition that his music has deserved all along, being graced with a long Wikipedia article!

He was a blazing pioneer in the history of Western 20th century music -- not only by being forced by the very nature of European musical instruments -- which generally only play the centuries-old diatonic scales -- to invent his own instruments from scratch, but also by freeing himself of all other European strictures, like form and pomp.

Here the group consists of a bass marimba, a hypobass, a diamond marimba, an adapted guitar, an Aeolian harp and a few others. They are either original Partch instruments or good copies.

The nonsense lyrics come from Partch's general attitude which is best summed by this paragraph of his:

"A satire on the world of singers and singing, music and dance; on concerts and concert audiences, where the occasional perception of an American word is an odd kind of shock. Also a satire on the world in general, on whimsy and caprice, on music in 43 tones to the octave, on people who conceive such things, on grand fourishes that lead to nothing, on satyrs, or on nothing."

Thus, it is telling that before the performance starts, the audience is already laughing on seeing the hypobass.