For the first time in our workshop series “Composer Collider“, young composers were confronted with the task of writing for the Harry Partch instruments. Supported by the Adam Mickiewick institute three young Polish composers, Wojciech Błażejczyk, Szymon Stanislaw Strzelec and Kuba Krzewinski, had the chance of getting to know the beautiful and delicate instruments, develop their own approach to the Harry Partch sound cosmos and to work together with the conductor Christian Eggen and us, as a professional ensemble for contemporary music.
One result of the collective work was Kuba Krzewinskis piece Inside (2017).
The composer and sound installation artist has recently been working on performances, pieces and installations focussing on the sense of touch. In his piece developed during Composer Collider he was especially interested in „zooming into the point of time when two separate entities become so deeply united that they become one. The edges of bodies blur away, for an instant, they are inside one another.“Combining the Harry Partch instruments with sound objects he developed himself and calls “Ameublement de Musique“, he told us that the main challenge working with the Harry Partch instruments for him was „to enter the unique language of the Harry Partch ‘orchestra’ and try to learn it and speak it within a short amount of time.“ Inside can be described as a cosmos uniting the instruments of Harry Partch and Krzewinskis series of objects.
Concert – Ameublement de musique from Kuba Krzewiński on Vimeo.
„Through colliding my objects / instruments with Partch’s chef-d’oeuvre, hidden qualities of both may be revealed.“
His favourite Partch instrument is the Marimba Eroica: “I see it as the most organic, physical instrument due to its uncanny low vibrations. There is no instrument like that throughout the traditional instrumentarium.“
Have a look below how you can help us to maintain the Harry Partch instruments and to give more composers the chance of getting to know and writing music for the Partch instrumentarium. We are grateful for any support!