[CAUT] Temperament:Harpsichord:Handel ?

[Fred Sturm]

On Dec 1, 2005, at 9:12 PM, Andrew Anderson wrote:

> Of the number of temperaments to choose from, what is the typical  
> choice?
>
> Handel's Messiah, harpsichord continuo
>
> Andrew C. Anderson
> TAMIU, LCC ...
>
> _______________________________________________
> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>

     One more consideration is what the ensemble is used to, as  
opposed to what might theoretically fit the music best. I have found  
in recent years that Valotti tends to be the Baroque temperament of  
choice for a plurality, if not an absolute majority, of the historic  
performers I have run into. Ironic, really, since it only made its  
appearance on the scene after the deaths of the last of the major  
Baroque composers, well into the height of the Classical period  
(1781). But it _is_ a kind of proto-typical well temperament, with  
very clear gradation of key color, and that utter symmetry that wows  
a lot of people.
     In an ensemble as large as even a chamber performance of  
Messiah, this doesn't matter all that much. They aren't going to hear  
the pitch of the harpsichord's notes during tutti passages - it's the  
rhythm section there. The harpsichord's harmony will only really be  
apparent during the recitativo (vocal soloist, harpsichord, and  
usually solo cello), where the different colors of diminished 7th  
chords, and the wildness of distant keys, can sometimes be quite  
effective. Under ideal circumstances, where the tuning hasn't all  
gone south under stage lights and a hall 40% drier than the  
instrument was used to <G>.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm@unm.edu