One voice: a reconciliation of Harry Partch's disparate theories

Unrestricted The study of American, microtonal composer Harry Partch (1901-1974) is complicated by specious autobiographical accounts, contradictory theoretical positions, and a methodology predicated on a vague concept of intuition. These complications are exacerbated by his use of a forty-three-tone scale, non-Western sources of inspiration, novel terms for preexisting ideas, and an integration of music, drama, and dance. In addition, his use of ratios to represent pitch, and the unique tablature notations for his nearly forty invented instruments create a seemingly insurmountable barrier to the analysis of his music. Yet while these complexities are initially overwhelming, they actually work to obscure the simplicity of Partch's core ideas and compositional technique. At the foundation of all his ideas was an individualistic concept he called One Voice. One Voice was the process by which Partch projected his self image through his works. In doing so, he created a model that aimed to inspire others toward individual expression and artistic investigation. The concept of One Voice is often treated as a byproduct of Partch's more well-known theories, namely Monophony (his intonation scheme), and Corporealism (his performance aesthetic). On closer examination, however, it can be shown that One Voice was in fact his most fundamental theory.; This dissertation will provide new insight into Partch's work by reevaluating it from the perspective of One Voice as his fundamental theory. It will be asserted that both his writings and his compositions support this view, and that Monophony and Corporealism developed out of the concept of One Voice. Along with this thesis, a new methodology for analyzing his music will be proposed to test the assumptions made. By addressing his music directly, Partch's contributions as a composer can be presented in conjunction with his contributions as a theorist. The intent is to reveal the consistency between his theory and music. Despite claims to the contrary, analysis shows that Partch's music did follow the principles laid out in his theory. Musical analysis and the concept of One Voice help to reconcile many of the contradictions that arise in Partch's work, and they allow a holistic understanding of this work for the first time.

对美国微分音（microtonal）作曲家哈里·帕奇（Harry Partch，1901—1974）的研究，常因诸多因素而变得复杂：似是而非的自传记述、相互抵牾的理论立场，以及以模糊的直觉概念为基础的研究范式。这些复杂情况又因他所采用的43音音阶、非西方灵感来源、为既存概念创设的新颖术语，以及音乐、戏剧与舞蹈的一体化融合而进一步加剧。此外，他以频率比例表征音高的做法，以及为其近四十件自制乐器设计的独特指法记谱法，也为其音乐分析设置了看似难以逾越的壁垒。尽管这些复杂性初看之下令人望而生畏，但它们实则掩盖了帕奇核心思想与创作技法的简洁性。其所有思想的根基，是他称之为“单一之声”（One Voice）的个性化概念。“单一之声”是帕奇通过作品投射自我形象的过程，借此他构建了一套旨在激励他人投身个体表达与艺术探索的范式。“单一之声”这一概念，常被视作帕奇更广为人知的理论的副产品，即单音律法（Monophony，其音高体系）与肉身美学（Corporealism，其表演美学）。然而，经更细致的审视便可发现，“单一之声”实则是他最根本的理论。本博士论文将以“单一之声”作为帕奇最根本的理论这一视角，重新审视帕奇的创作，从而为其研究提供全新洞见。本文将论证，帕奇的著述与创作均支持这一观点，且单音律法与肉身美学均脱胎于“单一之声”这一概念。伴随这一核心论点，本文还将提出一种全新的音乐分析方法论，以检验前述相关假设。通过直接剖析其音乐作品，我们可以同时呈现帕奇作为作曲家与理论家的双重贡献。本文的目的在于揭示其理论与音乐创作之间的内在一致性。尽管存在相反的学术主张，但分析结果表明，帕奇的音乐确实遵循了其理论中所确立的各项原则。音乐分析与“单一之声”的概念，有助于调和帕奇研究中出现的诸多矛盾，也让我们首次得以全面理解其全部创作成果。