December 10th, 2007 Jon
Harry Partch’s Delusion of the Fury was just performed in NYC at the Japan Society, we saw the closing night show on Saturday. Seeing Partch done complete with staging, choreography, and all the original instruments is rare enough, and this piece hasn’t been done like this since its’ premier in 1969. It was inspiring to see and hear the musical instruments/sculptures that he built to play his 43-tone Just Intonation music, and musical director Dean Drummond and crew did an incredible job. The choreography and performers were also excellent. This was really a once in a lifetime experience that transported the audience to a new world. Bravo!
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December 7th, 2007 Jon
A review of the 12-Tone Ultra Plus guitar came out this week in Guitar Player magazine (January ‘08 issue). The picture was cool and reviewer Matt Blackett had some nice things to say. He describes hearing a Harmonic 7th chord for the first time as ‘a pretty amazing experience’. It reminded me of the times when I’ve seen people play a pure Just Intonation 7th chord for the first time, it usually elicits a strong reaction as they realize that this powerful chord of Nature has been kept off of our instruments, out of our theory, and most have even been unaware of its’ existence.
The funniest part of the review was that the facing page contained a review of a leather gig bag which got an Editor’s Pick award. Maybe we’re trying too hard!
The January ‘08 issue of Downbeat magazine also just came out, it has a review of the Willie McBlind cd that’s very positive. It was cool that the reviewer, Frank-John Hadley, noticed the Harmonic 13th chords in the opening track, Chicken. Microtonal music needs more intelligent reviewers like this who listen to the music more than once before they write.
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