Pitch in 1860

[Calin Tantareanu]

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Thanks!

 Calin Tantareanu
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 http://calintantareanu.tripod.com
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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Piano Forte Supply=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 6:42 AM
  Subject: RE: Pitch in 1860


  Israel Stein is certainly correct when he writes; " ...the Paris Grand =
Opera had its own pitch, the Opera Comique had its own pitch and a third =
opera house (whose name I do not remember) had yet another pitch. In =
addition, the military bands used their own pitch and the church had yet =
another pitch..."

  I also agree when he writes: "It is probably foolish to think in terms =
of "standard pitch" (even for a locality) much before the late 19th =
century - it simply was not a realizable concept."


I have a bit more trouble when he writes: "The Pleyels and the Erards =
had to build pianos that could go up and down in pitch as needed.  As =
did all piano builders of this era. As to what the range was - that I =
don't know... A good guess would be somewhere between 420 and 435 - =
though other  pitches (even above 440) are not unknown in this time..."I =
would argue to the other direction, that while pitches below 440 were =
not unknown, most seem to have been above that.
  There is a fair amount of pitch data which can give us an idea of =
trends and developments which certainly dispels the "standard pitch A =
435" notion.

  Here are some examples from France, all from Ellis' measurements of =
collected tuning forks:

  Paris Grand Opera, 1856/58  : 446.2, 445.8, 448.0 Hz
  Paris Italian Opera, 1854/56:  442.5, 447.4 Hz
  Paris Opera Comique, 1854: 448.0 Hz
  Paris Conservatoire, 1856; 446.2 Hz
  Toulouse Conservatoire, 1859: 437.0
  Lille Conservatoire, 1859: 452.0 Hz
  Marseille Conservatoire, 1859: 447.0

  Earlier pitches were generally lower, but pitches in the second half =
of the 19th century were mostly higher than today, and in many instances =
up over 450 Hz, such as a NY Steinway fork at 457.2 Hz (1879)
  For more examples, visit  http://www.mozartpiano.com/pitch.html and =
scroll down the page. =20
  While the French commission set the "Standard" of 435.0 Hz in 1858, it =
seems to have been not much more than a proposal, which was largely =
ignored in favour of higher pitches in the following decades.

  So, for those of us who service vintage instruments, is it time to =
retire that A-435 fork and bring in an A-445 fork? <g>.

  Jurgen Goering
  Piano Forte Supply


  
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