Harry Partch with Cloud-Chamber Bowls and Spoils of War, Petaluma, CA, 1964

Harry Partch died in 1974. He was an iconoclastic American composer, musical theorist, philosophic instrument builder, raconteur, hobo, artist. What this man did within one short lifetime almost defies description, and he continues to wield a remarkable influence in musical and performance worlds to this day. This site is dedicated to chronicling that life.

Corporeal Meadows started in 1996 as a response to the first unauthorized appropriation of Partch's work. In the years since, this site (in its former incarnation) has served as a source of information on the composer and his works, and on the documents and recordings that have gradually become available. At all times, we've sought to be Harry's voice in a new venue.

Today, facsimiles of his instruments are showing up, and ensembles with no connection to his aesthetic or intentions are moving into the world, riding his coattails, diluting his oeuvre. His instruments still exist, and we will highlight their current activities, but at no time has it been more important to renew the documentation of his legacy, one of the most singular artistic creations of modern times. This site is run under the auspices of the Harry Partch Estate, and is created by people who actually knew and worked with Partch. We will never veer from the mission to present information and opinion as if Partch himself were here with us. We owe him, and we owe you.

Accept no substitutes.