[CAUT] temperament

[Laurence Libin]

Fred, Rameau's remarks from 1737 might or might not indicate equal temperament as we understand it (he might have had in mind a circulating temperament that approximates equal), but a character piece like L'Enharmonique from the ca. 1728 Nouvelles suites kind of misses its point in ET. The chords under the fermata in bar 12 of the reprise, in the midst of the descending bass line g-f-e-d-c#-b-b flat-a flat-g, are all about cringe, it seems to me.
Laurence 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Fred Sturm 
  To: caut at ptg.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 12:18 PM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] temperament


  On Apr 13, 2010, at 8:08 AM, Laurence Libin wrote:


     I've heard some recent copies of baroque organs with temperaments so extreme that they're initially jarring, but they're fine for music intended for them--but that repertoire is limited and takes getting used to.


  Yes, those French Ordinaire tunings (sometimes with the name d'Alembert or Rousseau appended) are pretty extreme, yet in France they seem to have been the standard alternative to 1/4 comma meantone from something like 1700-1790. Rameau's comment, in writing in favor of ET, was that one reason he preferred it was that he didn't need to cringe when hitting all those out of tune intervals. The Italians and the Germans had a similar reaction. But so much of the standard French literature, both for organ and for harpsichord, was written during that period, and should be played on that tuning if one wants to be authentic.
  If the composer wants to use the varied "in tune" and "out of tune" as an expressive devise, well and good. But for some composers (like Rameau), wanting the freedom to move harmonically at will, it became an impediment.
  It is somewhat similar when we, today, try various UETs. If they are piquant enough for people to notice, there will be the perception of "out of tune" from many listeners, when certain combinations are played. And if we tune mild enough that people don't notice, one questions whether it makes any difference.

  Regards,
  Fred Sturm
  fssturm at unm.edu
  http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/FredSturm

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