Throughout, the timbre of all the instruments that Partch has built for his orchestra is mellifluous rather than harsh, consonant rather than unrelated. As a result, the intricate rhythms and harmonies the composer employs to evoke dramatic response, to be emotionally stirring an exciting and deeply moving, never become violent. As each new instrument appeared, transporting them became increasingly difficult. Partch once complained about this manger of materialism in a letter. Hell, I'm not like John Cage.
All Cage needs is a gong, a carrot juicer, and a toothbrush.
Harry Partch was a hell-raiser, and iconoclast, a hobo, a visionary, a Bacchic monk, some say a schizophrenic, a mass of complexities, a dove and a great white shark. Though no two people can agree completely about the character of Harry Partch, there are several areas of intersection, which are best summed up on the words of Danlee Mitchell . Harry was a very responsible person. He could scream at people toward the end of his life for doing dumb, immature things. He was a completely unrepressed individual, never holding back any reaction to his environment, never suppressing anything.