Greetings,
Inre a violinist really likeing the Coleman 11 tunings,
Fred writes:
"
> " I have no doubt you are reporting an experience accurately. As to how
> to interpret it, I am not so sure I agree with your take, that the
> temperament prompted the praise, particularly considering the
> statement "the overtones were perfectly lined up." <snip>"
>
I am not too sure he was really talking about the overtones, (more below).
> "But in any
> case, no uneven, circulating temperament will line up overtones
> overall any better than ET. In fact, an excellent argument can be made
> for the idea that ET is the very best temperament from the point of
> view of alignment of partials, especially with inharmonicity of
> modern pianos in the picture.""
>
I don't know, I think we look at alignment perhaps differently than the
unfretted musician, who, I suspect, is actually talking about being able to
hit pitches by a natural sense that happen to be consonant with the piano
accompanying them.
> " My own interpretation is that the piano in question had a very high
> standard of unison tuning. The highest standard of unison tuning is by
> no means common, and it is quite possible that your tuning would stand
> out in the experience of the violinist in this regard. ,snip>
>
> umm, I dont' think I'm that good. This particular violinist plays all
over the world, his accompanyist is head of the piano dept. at the Royal Ac
ademy of Scotland, and I am going to assume they have experience with the best
tuners there are, out there. I think it was something else.
> >> Now as to how precisely musicians match pitch (particularly to a
> harpsichord), that is another question, and it may be that the level
> of precision is low enough that it doesn't really matter. I suspect
> this is the case. But in any event, one fixed pitch is the same as
> another in being an artificial fixed target from the point of view of
> the flexible pitch instrument. None will match what the flexible pitch
> instrument would do in other contexts. ET has the benefit of being
> very predictable and familiar, whatever its other sins <G>
>
I have a idea that what the violinist was actually referring to comes from
the Coleman tuning providing a tonal center, and once his ear recognized the
landscape,(harmonoscape?), the distances and widths of intevals became his
landmarks. ie, as Von Weber's score modulated out of a more consonant harmony,
the soloist instinctively felt the need for more sharpness in the thirds, as it
resolved into consonance,(which most music of this period seems to do, rarely
attempting a resolution moving away from C), the soloist instinctively
softened his "sharpening". This addresses the use of "expression" in intonation,(see
P. Casals thoughts on "expressive intonation").
Let's assume that the composer actually did write to take advantge of
key character, which I submit is not implausible. If so, we find that the
modulations tend to support the thought that a more expressive key, (higher
dissonance, more color, more tension, however we want to define it), would be a
better venue for heightening musical tension. As I remember it, the build-up
of tension in this piece proceded through increasingly tempered keys, and
when it came time for musical resolution, the move was back into consonance.
This is common to much piano music of the classical era, also.
I believe the violinist senses this, and plays more just intervals in the
calm sections, and wider intervals in the tense passages. This could be
happening without conscious thought, since our brains handle more information
than our consciousness could ever hope to entertain, (I think the same parameter
may be at work in a pianist's sense of aftertouch, but that is a whole
different thread which we can run into the ground later!). I believe the Coleman
tuning just happened to "bend" the piano's harmony in the same way that the score
prodded him to be expressive.
I am going to continue with this via the string faculty here, but I do
know that it is very easy to scare them with talk of technically measuring
intonation. They often don't really know why they play non-just intervals when the
score increases tension,(and often dynamic level), but they usually know
exactly why they strive for Just intonation in ensemble playing of music that is
calm and serene. The members of the Blair Quartet all agree that the entire
intonation question changes as soon as a piaon joins the mix. I think they may
find something easier to accept if the piano is tuned in a WT for performance
of the music written in the WT era, which I consider to be 1700-late 1880's.
I have nothing to be dogmatic about with any of this, just investigating
what happens when I manage to get the barriers of status quo lowered a little
bit. Universities are supposed to be places to explore, it is a shame that so
many members of academia get fossilized in place, rigid in outlook, and
reduced to protecting their history, even if it means turning a deaf ear to new
concepts. Shucks, life is short, I don't wanna do the same thing over and over
and over, at least 'til I have tried as much new stuff as possible.
Regards,
Ed Foote RPT
P.s. Emmanuel Ax will be here NEXT week, so will have to wait on that bit
of question.
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