Sorry to have gotten behind on this regular column! Infocomm 2010 was a very busy time. Enough excuses, on to the weirdness!
Philip “Tyrannosaurus Rex” Cooke made a suggestion on our FaceBook wall a while back, recommending we take a look at this unique instrument conceived by eccentric microtonalist Harry Partch in 1965.
Played with mallets, the Quadrangularis Reversum is a marimba-esque instrument built from eucalyptus and redwood. The keys are made from bamboo. All of Partch’s instruments are now in the possession of Dean Drummond at Montclair State University’s music department. The instrument is actually intended as a companion to Partch’s “Diamond Marimba,” which uses Partch’s proprietary “Tonality Diamond” for pitch layout. The Reversum uses a tuning system that is essentially the “Tonality Diamond” turned inside-out. I think. I wish Carl Sagan was still around to help explain all this.
While the Quadroogulanus Reglazzurt is a unique instrument, I was able to find at least one re-creation here. The brief writeup says that it’s cooped up in a garage somewhere, unfortunately. Furthermore, there’s a great interactive Flash version of the instrument located here, which allows you to trigger samples from of the Reversum from your own keyboard! This is a great find, as it allows us to hear the bizarre intervals of the instrument’s 43-note scale without having to rummage through random garages or travel to Montclair State University.
Expect a “Get to Know: Harry Partch” feature to follow soon! This guy was just too much! His instruments were all diligently tuned to a proprietary 43-note scale that his compositions worked for. More than likely, you’re used to the 12-tone scale. Imagine what would happen to your learning curve when faced with one of his instruments for the first time! You’d have a lot to un-learn.
More on Mr. Partch later.
