Simon, the celebrated singer-songwriter and former half of the folk duo , recorded with instruments created by the unusual composer and inventor for a song on his well-received album, “,” released June 3.

(1901–1974) was an eccentric musical genius who designed and built an because he wanted to hear, and compose with, the sounds they would make. His instruments were for years housed at Montclair State University in New Jersey, but since 2014 have been in residence at the 91̽»¨ .

The song is titled “Insomniac’s Lullaby.” Its sleepless protagonist begs, “Oh Lord, don’t keep me up all night / Side by side with the moon / With its desolate eyes / Miles from the sunrise / The darkness inviting a tune.”

Simon wrote in liner notes that the album began with this dreamlike tune, “its ascending chromatic line leaving me in the easy-to-play guitar keys of C and G major.” Work on the song led him to Montclair State, where he had a recording session in February 2013 with music professor , longtime curator of Parch’s instrument collection. Drummond, who worked as an assistant to Partch in the 1960s and recorded with him, died in April of 2013.

Partch’s entire collection of musical creations is now in residence at the 91̽»¨under the curatorial hand of , affiliate assistant professor of music, and the instruments are presented in each year.

The composer’s music, Simon wrote, “evokes an aural response that goes beyond the ear’s perception of ‘out of tune’ and into a strange, often eerily beautiful, landscape of sound. Even the names of the instruments — Cloud Chamber Bowls, Sonic Canons, Marimba Eroica, Kithara and Chromelodeon to name a few, as well as Dean Drummond’s own invention, the Zoomoozophone — suggest another world of sound.” All those instruments are used in the song, as well as glockenspiel, flute, autoharp, orchestra bells and more.

Simon, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a solo artist and with , is known for innovative use of musical instruments, from the duo’s days though his highly successful solo career, including his popular mid-career albums “” (1986) and “” (1990).

“It was an exciting way to begin a new album,” Simon wrote, “and gave me the opportunity to think about Partch’s argument for microtonal music as akin to the spoken voice.”

The New York Times said “Stranger to Stranger,” Simon’s 13^th solo album, “is a set of songs that crack jokes and ponder questions about love, death, spirituality, baseball, economic inequality, brain chemistry and music itself. It’s the latest ambitious, tuneful installment in a career that has had far more to do with curiosity than crowd-pleasing.”

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To learn more about the instruments and the , visit online or contact Corey at crcorey@u.washington.edu.

Watch a video about the Harry Partch instrument collection at the UW.

The bass marimba, big as a desk and twice as tall, uses an organ pipe as a resonator and answers the mallet with a musically wooden plonk. The Chromelodeon II, a retuned reed organ, wheezes a trio of soft tones with the press of a key. And the elaborate Cloud-Chamber Bowls deliver tones ranging from a bell-like gong to a glassy clank.

These are the creations of (1901-1974), an eccentric musical genius who built them because he wanted to hear — and compose with — the sounds such contraptions would make.

There’s also the Kithara, the Harmonic Canon, the Zymo-Xyl, the Mazda Marimba, the Blue Rainbow, the Crychord and the Eucal Blossom. Even the Quadrangularis Reversum, which sounds like a Hogwarts incantation. And many more — about 50 in all.

The instruments came to the 91̽»¨this winter from Montclair State University in New Jersey. And along with them came , a research associate tasked with taking care of the inventions, helping students play them and learn from them, and conducting fundraising and public outreach to support the collection and its maintenance.

Though of course Corey never met Partch, who died decades ago, he knows a great deal about the man and his music.

“He was a singer and a multi-instrumentalist — a percussionist, keyboardist, strings player — he did it all,” Corey said. “When he grew up he was playing accompaniment for silent movies. He was a very informed musician.”

In composition and performance, Partch employed “,” also called pure intonation, which is a tuning where the frequencies of notes are governed by ratios of whole numbers and make what are termed “just intervals.”

In just intonation, Corey said, “You can pick any pitch you want and that can be the key, and you can expand out in any direction from there.”

Corey said Partch’s main aim was to follow the human voice, “which of course does not speak in 12 rigidly chosen tones per octave, but has an infinite range of inflection,” and to build instruments that better harmonize and accompany the voice. He even created musical pieces for dance and theater productions during his long and varied career.

Partch played the instruments he created, but in time got tired of being their only performer. So he started adapting instruments for others to play, starting with a viola and expanding in time to the diverse set of instruments — some looking rather like Dr. Seuss creations — now in residence at the 91̽»¨School of Music.

Even playing Partch’s musical inventions requires musicians to be more physically engaged than the usual concert player. For the outsized Bass Marimba, for instance: “Playing it on a riser, you have to move from one end to the other. There is a dance element — you need to have graceful footwork and be aware of your presence on stage.”

Corey is well cast as the keeper of this odd musical world. As a student at Montclair State he performed in several of Partch’s theatrical pieces, and he even visited the 91̽»¨in 2012 as part of a touring production. After finishing his doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh, he returned to Montclair State and joined an ensemble dedicated to Partch music. The ensemble director died soon thereafter and Corey was placed in charge of the collection. Interest soon waned at the school, however, and the 91̽»¨became the collection’s — and Corey’s — new home.

Student composers at the 91̽»¨may be challenged by Partch’s eccentric notation and tuning methods, Corey said, “but it’s a world that isn’t open to many people, so I think they should take advantage.”

“There’s this idea that if you are doing something creative, just go for it, whatever inspires you — whether it’s to build your own instruments or explore one thing in music that really appeals to you. To really do your own thing, because no one else is going to.”

Just now, these wild musical inventions sit in storage rooms in the School of Music building, but their 91̽»¨debut is approaching. Corey will host a , followed by .

In the meantime, he’s showing students the unique qualities of the instruments, answering questions, “talking theory” and trying to stir interest in joining an ensemble.

“Just trying to build a program,” he said, “more or less from the ground up.”

• To learn more about Harry Partch, his music and its residency at the 91̽»¨School of Music, contact Corey at crcorey@uw.edu.