DESCRIPTION:
Live Recording - Meany Hall, University of Washington - 11/7/2012
Performed on original instruments invented and built by Harry Partch.

Castor and Pollux (1952) Harry Partch

Dean Drummond - kithara II
Nathaniel Liberty - surrogate kithara
Joe Bergen - cloud chamber bowls
Jared Soldiviero - harmonic canon
Jeffrey Irving - bass marimba (high)
Bill Ruyle - diamond marimba
Joe Fee - bass marimba (low)

Castor and Pollux "A Dance for the Twin Rhythms of Gemini" - was composed by Partch in 1952. First it was a sextet for Kithara II, Harmonic Canon, Diamond Marimba, Bass Marimba (two players), and CloudChamber Bowls. It was quickly determined that the Kithara part was too difficult and Partch also quickly invented and built the Surrogate Kithara so he could divide the original part between two players. A story of seduction, birth, and an ascent into the stars, this score only follows the story of the famous twins up to their birth, or more accurately, their hatching from an egg. (Daddy was a swan), It was originally conceived as a more optimistic antidote to Partch's dancedrama based on the tragic Oedipus. Castor and Pollux is one continuous work in two large parts, as each twin is handled separately, first Castor, then Pollux. Both halves of the work consist of three duos (or trios when the kitharas are playing) in sequence: the Conception, the Seduction, and the Incubation. In the fourth and final section of each half, Delivery from the Egg, the duos and trio are played simultaneously, a musical triple exposure.

Harry Partch (1901-1974), one of the greatest and most individualistic composers of all time, was not only a great composer, but an innovative theorist who broke through the shackles of many centuries of one tuning system for all of Western music, a music instrument inventor who created dozens of incredible instruments for the performance of his music, and a musical dramatist who created his own texts and dance/theatre extravaganzas based on everything from Greek mythology to his own experiences as a hobo. Between 1930 and 1972, he created one of the most amazing bodies of sensually alluring and emotionally powerful music of the 20th century: music dramas, dance theater, multi-media extravaganzas, vocal music and chamber music---mostly all performed on the instruments he built himself.
http://www.harrypartch.com


Newband was founded in 1977 by composer Dean Drummond and flutist Stefani Starin who continue as Artistic Directors. With Drummond's invention of the 31-tone zoomoozophone in 1978, Newband began to explore music using microtonality and alternative tuning systems. In 1990, Newband received custodianship of the original Harry Partch Instrument Collection and has since been involved with resurrecting Partch's great works while commissioning new works for what is now perhaps the most unique instrument collection in the world.
http://www.newband.org