>This week I have to prepare a harpsichord to accompany a Vivaldi >violin piece, and am wondering if anyone has suggestions for an >appropriate temperament. And, generally, I'm interested in how >people who use HTs pick them. Thanks. > I have recently started using an 18 century French temperament, Tempérament Ordinaire for our three harpsichords and one fortepiano. This is one version from a family of temperaments used on organs. It comes from a great book - The Well Tempered Organ by Charles A Padgham ( Oxford 1986). I had been tuning a Vallotti/Young but was unhappy with some disagreements, particularly the E-G# third and A-E fifth and an overall awkwardness or abruptness in many of its modulations. I also tune outside work for a baroque ensemble and the Vallotti is the current favourite with most string and woodwind players. However, I've been overwhelmed with positive comments about this tuning. I put this tempering into the studio piano of our baroque flute teacher. He stops me every other day and thanks me for it. The two modern flute teachers have heard it and want their pianos changed to it. The harpsichord tutor and his students commented straight away on the day I tuned the harpsichord - they love it. And, unbelievably, I have now had two piano staff asking to try it in their studio pianos. This is a very finely 'crafted' tempering; it's secret, I believe, is a close attention to internal agreements of beat speeds and not just purity of intervals. Many temperings achieve a purity of thirds or fifths in certain keys but in actual playing, this purity is masked by excessive beats in minor thirds and sixths especially. In this tempering in the central keys of 1 or 2 sharps and flats, for example, beats in thirds or fifths agree with beats in sixths which creates a wonderful clarity of texture to chords and harmonies. It is elegant and beautiful and smooth in its modulation, even through the more coloured, remote keys. Historical appropriateness is of course, another issue. It would seem to be a natural choice for, say Couperin, but purists may object to its use for German or Italian music. But, until they start objecting.....I've got some very happy musicians! If you have some kind of ETD here are the cent deviations from unstretched, equal temperament ie.100 cents/semitone: A, Bb, B, C ,C#, D, Eb, E , F, F#, G, G#, A 0, +7, -6,+9,-2,+3,+2, -3,+12,-4, +6,-1, 0 Geoffrey Pollard Sydney Conservatorium of Music Sydney, Australia
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