ABSTRACT
Although perhaps overshadowed by academic writings about his theories relating to pitch and intonation, Harry Partch’s investigations into the general nature and meaning of musical expression were also of considerable originality and consumed a large portion of his creative thought. What he saw was a Western culture whose music had become increasingly abstract; a mass expression, 1 whose emphasis on the mental and spiritual transcended reality and conveyed no real or direct meaning to the listener. During the early portion of his career, Partch’s ideas gradually coalesced into a stance which was in direct opposition to these qualities. He believed that, above all, music should be corporeal. It must represent the intimate expression of the individual, and it must ultimately be emotionally tactile, communicating to the listener in a vital and tangible manner.
