"The Bewitched" was Partch's first work solely intended for dance. Drawing heavily from his deep affection for the music-theatrical performance traditions of Greek theater, as well as those from Africa, Bali, and Chinese opera, Partch conceived of a contemporary American music ritual-theater where musicians not only play, but also function at times as movers-singers-actors. Such is the case of "The Bewitched", where the instruments are the set, in front of (and around) which dancers "dance," but where the on-stage musicians also move and sing.
Taylor Brook's "Block" complements and contrasts "The Bewitched", taking inspiration from an introduction given by Partch at a performance of "The Bewitched" in Chicago in 1957. Brook observes:
“In this introduction, Partch discusses our listening habits, playing on the expression of ‘in one ear and out the other,’ by stating that he wants to create a ‘block between the ears... and when this block is effective all kinds of wonderful things happen: nerve impulses quicken, the adrenal glands begin to secrete their ecstatic hormones, the pancreatic juices begin to ooze.’
Partch achieves this through his corporeal aesthetic, combining sound and sight in the musical theatre works that dominated his late output, 'The Bewitched' among them. For myself, the immersed mental state is more often achieved using sound only – rather than exciting all the senses, focusing in on a single one. Combining the guitar with a corpus-based electronic accompaniment, Block invites the listener to enter the ecstatic experience that Partch describes.”
released September 16, 2022
Harry Partch
"The Bewitched"
Cast of "The Bewitched"
Freda Schell, The Witch
The University of Illinois Musical Ensemble, John Garvey, conductor
The Chorus of Lost Musicians (in order of appearance):
William Olson, Chorus Leader (male solo voice), Marimba Eroica
Warren Smith, Bass Marimba
Thomas Gauger, Boo (Bamboo Marimba)
Michael Donzella, Spoils of War
George Andrix, Cloud-Chamber Bowls
Danlee Mitchell, Diamond Marimba
Jack McKenzie, Surrogate Kithara and Gongs
Georgi Mayer, Harmonic Canon (Castor);
Barbara Grammar, Harmonic Canon (Pollux)
Sanford Berry, Kithara (right side)
Jan Bach, Kithara (left side)
Warren Birkett, clarinet
Joseph Firrantello, bass clarinet
Charles Delaney, piccolo
Carol Zuckerberg, koto
Peter Farrell, cello
Herbert Bielawa, Chromelodeon
This is a recording of the first performance of "The Bewitched", which took place at the University of Illinois’ Champaign-Urbana campus in 1957. The performance featured musical instruments designed and built by the composer and played by members of the University of Illinois Musical Ensemble. This recording was originally released on Partch’s own label, GATE 5 Records.
The recording was later re-issued by CRI in 1997, subsequently re-mastered by Bill Blue with Mark Hoffman, and again re-issued by New World Records in 2005.
"The Bewitched" Restoration and Remastering Project was produced by Mark Hoffman and Bill Blue. The analog transfer to a 32-bit digital format was done from the original (1957) 15-ips full-track mono master tapes. In a single one-minute section, the 1975 “original master protection dub” was necessary, as the original master was simply too degraded for repair. Meticulous analog and digital restoration, including a proprietary technique created by Bill Blue, has brought new life to this amazing recording, with sonic qualities approaching those of modern recording technology. Blanket automatic noise reduction, de-popping and de-clicking have not been used. Whenever possible, original room tone, timbre and attack have been preserved, even if it meant leaving in a bit of tape noise. This project was engineered by Bill Blue with Mark Hoffman at The Controlroom, El Cajon, California, in January and February, 2005.
Special thanks to Jon Szanto and Danlee Mitchell (Harry Partch Estate).
For more information on Harry Partch, please visit:
www.corporealmeadows.com
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Taylor Brook
"Block" for retuned steel string guitar and optional electronics after "The Bewitched" by Harry Partch (2022)
Taylor Brook writes music for the concert stage, electronic music, music for robotic instruments, as well as music for video, theatre, and dance.
Described as “gripping” and “engrossing” by the New York Times, Brook’s compositions have been performed around the world by ensembles such as the Ensemble Ascolta, JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Quatuor Bozzini, TAK ensemble, Talea Ensemble, and others.
Brook studied composition with Brian Cherney in Montreal, with Luc Brewaeys in Brussels, and with George Lewis and Georg Haas in New York. In 2008, he studied Hindustani music and performance with Debashish Bhattacharya in Kolkata. His music is often concerned with finely tuned microtonal sonorities.
In 2018, Brook completed a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in music composition at Columbia University with Fred Lerdahl and was a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow in music composition. Currently, Brook is a Banting Fellow at the University of Victoria and the technical director of TAK ensemble.
This recording was performed by the composer on an Eastman Parlour guitar.
For more information on Taylor Brook, please visit:
www.taylorbrook.info
