Harry Partch

This amazingly is the first CD release of Delusion of the Fury, the most fully realised work Harry Partch ever produced. Born in Oakland in 1901, Partch was playing and composing almost from infancy. At age 28 he burned the entire body of his work and began developing instruments to express a writing style that employed a scale of 43 tones to the octave. He spent the Depression travelling as a hobo, converting his experiences into music. Over several decades he gained wider recognition that finally led to the production and recording of his magnum opus, itself a 12-year undertaking. Delusion of the Fury (originally released in 1971) is more than just music, it is theatre. Using mime, dance, music, vocalisations, lighting and costume Partch related two tales concerning reconciliation of life and death, one after a Japanese Noh drama, the other after an Ethiopian folk tale. To call Delusion "polyrhythmic" is an understatement. Tuned mallets combine with shamisen or slide guitar-like stringed instruments to evoke both Africa and Japan, frequently at the same time. There are no wind instruments — that role is filled by excellent choral writing in the "Greek chorus" tradition of storytelling. One could not imagine this music being made any other way, the sign of a great work. The re-mastering of Delusion for CD has complimented the strange and beautiful spatial relationships in the music and given additional depth and clarity to the bass elements. Delusion… is highly recommended for fans of Danny Elfman's film soundtracks and "ethno-techno" disciples who are looking for cool sounds and compositional inspiration.