ET, Bach and other stuff

[Clark]

Hi, Pat,

I don't believe there is evidence to support your quote regarding Bach's
WTC, though certainly this is a common assertion; neither was his the
first compilation that cycles through available keys. A lute suite
predates it by 50 years(? its composer eludes me, but quite possibly was
intended for 12tET),
while Vicentino and Colonna both sketched exercises for their respective
fifth-tone keyboard instruments.

Modern instrument design may be influenced by the current temperament,
but in brass and woodwinds it is no better realized than older versions
with other systems - where modern large ensembles are no more accurate
in their execution of a temperament than earlier ensembles. Fretted
string instruments provided far more precise and predictable
intonational results than their modern relatives which mask errors with
vibrato.


As 'modern' large ensembles don't regularly feature fixed pitch
soloists, (12t)ET rarely is their intent, as more consonant intervals
are more readily available; however, theorbos (lutes), harpsichords and
organs were common continuo instruments, thereby influencing the pitches
produced by those otherwise quite variable.

12tET _is_ a 'solution' in terms of performing a wide variation of music
in a single setting, indeed, many 20th century works make advantage of
its qualities, but it is not naturally a final destination either for
tonality or temperament.

Cordially,


Clark