The PARTCH Ensemble performing the diversity of instruments required for the tracks on the album being discussed
I have not written about the Bridge Records’ Music of Harry Partch series since June of 2019. That was when I wrote about the third volume in the series, Sonata Dementia. It was only at the beginning of this month that I learned that the fourth volume is now available. The full title of the album is The Wayward: First Complete Recording; and, as I write this, the best Web page for purchase can be found on the Bandcamp Web site.
The album has six tracks, each of which has a lengthy title worth repeating:
- Barstow: Eight Hitchhiker Inscriptions from a Highway Railing at Barstow, California (1941/54/68)
- San Francisco: A Setting of the Cries of Two Newsboys on a Foggy Night in the Twenties (1943/55)
- The Letter: a Depression Message from a Hobo Friend (1943/55)
- U.S. Highball: A Musical Account of a Transcontinental Hobo Trip (1943/55)
- Ulysses at the Edge: A Minor Adventure in Rhythm (1955/62)
- Ulysses at the Edge: Improv Version
Personally, I was glad to receive this latest volume, even if I had to wait over seven years! The titles say all that the attentive listeners will need.
