On Dec 1, 2009, at 4:21 PM, Israel Stein wrote: > This is why I would suggest that the sort of question Gerry asked > really should be directed to people who make a career of studying > and performing this music.- of whom there are plenty in his area. No disagreement there. But he made the question to this list. I responded in succinct form based on considerable information both from books and articles (and many original sources contained within them, including letters and other "informal" but very informative materials), and, by the way, from considerable interaction with actual early music performers. Yes, even in the wilds of New Mexico we see such people. Like the foremost baroque bassoonist in the world, Michael McCraw, who has been here many times over the past several years along with prominent baroque oboist Washington McClain and harpsichordist Arthur Haas and Gambist Martha McGaughey for a baroque double reed workshop (most recently last summer, when I had the opportunity to talk at some length with McCraw about intonation issues). http://www.baroquereeds.com/ will give you their very impressive biographies. This is one of many examples I could give. So don't leap to the assumption that poor old Fred is simply someone who has too much book learning and not enough on the ground experience. It might surprise you to know just how much, as I don't wear this kind of thing on my sleeve too much. All things considered, I stand by my original, succinct statement: the harpsichord should probably be in 1/4 comma meantone. I haven't yet heard anything to persuade me otherwise. Though I certainly wouldn't call a decision to use ET "wrong" historically, I think it "unlikely." I guess I will also suggest that most actual performers have a good bit of book learning, too. If, for example, they were putting on Orfeo, they undoubtedly consulted the score, read the fairly sizable number of extant letters of Monteverdi, looked at other contemporary materials. And read the writings of various scholars who had covered the same ground - and had made those materials available to them. And, yes, then they tempered the knowledge gained with the practical experience of playing and listening to the instruments. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico fssturm at unm.edu
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