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| A God-awful thing, to be stuck out there on the guard rail, waiting in the desert sun (or shivering in the cold night air) for a lift to Four Corners or Needles. Yet, if there is a quintessential Partch piece, it may well be Barstow, the stories of eight lonely souls in that very predicament. Despite Barstow's relative familiarity, not everyone is aware of the evolution of this ingeniously American group of "song-settings". Wouldn't it be interesting to hear a number of different versions of at least a part of the work?
Of course it would. We present, for your dining and dancing pleasure, seven renditions of section "Number One". Didn't think there were that many recordings? Ah, the magic of the Meadows - just click on the little mini-maps to hear the audio clip. The examples are presented in order by date of recording; the text will give the details on which version of Harry's it is. We've even got an unofficial arrangement, but you can read about that elsewhere. Have a good time, and take plenty of extra water. If you'd like a little taste of the town itself, take a trip over to Lisa Canjura-Clayton's Virtual Barstow. Because it gets hotter than Hell out here... |
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[Version: 1941 - Recorded: 1942] The first example is actually a second, 'lost' version of Barstow; the first was for solo Adapted Guitar and voice, perfect for Partch's wanderings. This instrumentation adds the Chromelodeon, Partch's microtonally-tuned reed organ. The score was lost over the years, but Partch made an acetate recording in 1942 in Madison, Wisconsin, from which this audio clip is taken. Of interest are both the contrapuntal nature of the Chromelodeon part and the relaxed nature of the vocal delivery. |
| [Version: 1943 - Recorded: 1945] Recorded only three years after the preceding example, this version has undergone a rescoring by the addition of the Kithara part, and a reduction in the Chromelodeon part; since the score has survived, this is 'officially' considered the second version of Barstow that Partch prepared. I'm not sure if the traditional 'red light' was on, but there is an urgency in the vocal rendition not present in his other recordings. |
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[Version: 1954 - Recorded: 1958] Example number three also happens to be the third revision of the piece. In the years since the last recording, Partch had developed new instruments, two of which are incorporated here: the Diamond Marimba (built in 1948) and the Surrogate Kithara (replacing the earlier Kithara part; built in 1953, originally to lessen the difficulty of some other Kithara passages). The recording was made in Evanston, Illinois along with several other pieces, but Partch found this recording unsatisfactory and never released it. It is, however, the only recording of the third revision. |
| [Version: 1968 - Recorded: 1968] The final version that Partch prepared is presented twice. This first example comes from the out-of-print Columbia recording (The World of Harry Partch - MS 7207) that Partch supervised, with Danlee Mitchell as music director. Once again a change of instrumentation: gone is the Adapted Guitar and the Bamboo Marimba (built 1955) has been added. This instrumentation, with it's spiky percussive timbres, lends a prickly texture to the stories. It has the distinction of being the first classical recording to utilize the 'F' word... |
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[Version: 1968 - Recorded: 1982] So this is the only duplicated version in the collection, included for comparison's sake. During the 15 years that the Partch Ensemble was active in San Diego, Barstow was a staple of the touring programs. Our interest in furthering Partch's notion of the corporeal performance generated a production that used five musicians, one for each instrument and one vocalist for the 'Objective' voice. The vocal duties were shared throughout the group, so the players had to be able to switch instruments, as well as sing and act. This clip is a live recording from a concert at Mills College, Oakland, CA. |
| [Version: 1940-41 - Recorded: 1995] Example Six is a most intriguing item: a resurrection of the very first version that Partch completed, but never recorded. John Schneider spent the better part of 13 years laboring on this reconstruction, including the commissioning of a custom Adapted Guitar. You can find info about the recording itself on the Fresh Picks page. John also had an article entitled "Bringing Back Barstow" in the journal 1/1, Volume 8, Number 4, available from the Just Intonation Network. I have some qualms about the performance, but I can't fault anyone for this kind of dedication. And from that perspective, it's rather remarkable achievement. |
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[Version: Johnston, 1996 - Recorded: 1996] Most Meadow's visitors are well aware of my thoughts on this example: I do not believe that this transcription should have been done. Ben Johnston, after being commissioned by the Kronos Quartet's David Harrington, took on the task of translating the 1943 version for string quartet, eliminating most of the Kithara part in the process. I include it here for completeness, and let you be the judge; there is more discussion of this 'arrangement' elsewhere in the Meadows. I have no doubt what Partch would have to say about it - "Pure poop", or something a bit stronger... |
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