This album changed my life. It is so far from any composed form of music I have ever heard and unlike a lot of other experimental stuff out there, it is very expressive and emotional.
I originally heard it on public radio about 15 years ago and immediately fell in love. It took me 14 years to find a copy of it but I never gave up. How many albums do you know of that can keep your interest for that long.
As far as the music goes, the album is a recording of an opera performed on Harry Partch's hand made instruments. The instruments are tuned to a micro-tonal scale of 43 notes per octave compared to the standard of 12 notes that we are accustomed to. Harry uses these extra notes to express more subtle feelings and emotions.
Unlike other microtonal music, you will find this to be very melodic. If you're looking for experimental music, you won't find it here. Unlike some of his peers like John Cage, nothing is left to chance and you won't find anything random either. The music will haunt you after listening to only a moment yet if you listen longer, you might find a tear, feelings of fear, and somehow a strange sense of joy all at once. That's my biased opinion.
You can find this cd on Amazon.com.
Matthew Cox . org
http://matthewcox.org/article.php/2004080920423191