In a little more than a week I will head north to Seattle for a concert on Saturday, April 13th by the UW Partch Ensemble. Taking place in the Meany Studio Theater, Dr. Charles Corey and his assembled musicians will survey a number of Partch’s works, large and small. I may have to amend/alter this, but I believe the pieces on this evening are:

And On The Seventh Day Petals Fell In Petaluma (excerpts)
Even Wild Horses - Act II, Scene 1
Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales
The Letter
The Mock Turtle Song
The Bewitched

Title page of the score from the early, unperformed version of The Bewitched. — Title page of the score from the early, unperformed version of *The Bewitched*.

I’ve highlighted the last piece because Charles has decided to do a 1st performance of an earlier version of The Bewitched. This consists of ten scenes that appeared in the final version, slightly smaller in ensemble size and length, and without the opening Prologue and closing Epilogue. Also (as I understand), no dancers. A different serving of tapioca, so to speak.

Partch originally wrote The Bewitched in 1955 with a small-ish ensemble in mind, the better to consider touring. In very short order - less than a year - he had revised those thoughts and started on a larger score and production, realizing that even minimal staging would still require more resources than he could muster, and the piece would be better suited for a residency situation. He expanded the work and it was premiered in March of 1957 at the University of Illinois. This concert in Seattle will be the first fully realized (concert) performance of the initial version.

I’m looking forward to experiencing Sarah Kolat in the titular role of The Witch, as well as being transported back in time to my own numerous performances of Bewitched from the 1970s and 80s. Fascinating and colorful music - I do hope there is a full house for this rare opportunity to hear a bit of the unheard.