historical vs. equal temperament

[Anne Beetem]

Ah, but Stephen, there is also the difference in absolute pitch.  I
frequently transpose harpsichords to 392, 415, 440.  Even played with the
same HT or ET, in the same "Key" (what does that mean now? if it is also
related to absolute frequencies),   the same piece will sound different,
throatier at 392, shriller at 440, changing the character.    A dear friend
of mine tells me that when he hears his Sonatas for Harpsichord performed
in the pitches other than the one he composed in, that he finds the changed
character disturbing.  He does not have perfect pitch.

Then, as you noted, there is the question of whether it was ET.   Is ET a
theoretical absolute? Our instincts say yes,  the realities of
inharmonicity on the piano mean something else again, and then,   how far
off of ET are we before we are an HT?   Try some Granados in a late
Victorian,  just slightly off ET.  In particular his C# Barcarolle in the
Scenas Romanticas.   Play it in C#as written, then in C#  (a trivial
transposition).

Finally, yes, the position of the hand matters very much, the relative
strengths of the fingers in the different configurations, though the truly
skilled pianist does their best to circumvent this limitation, always
aiming for the sound in the mind.

Not only Chopin, but Beethoven and Czerny (as is evident in the fingerings
from his exercises) were well aware of the different capabilities of
different fingers on different notes in different hand positions.

Anne (yes,  I thought I'd signed off, but apparently it hasn't gone through
properly yet--glad it didn't, so I'm just using the speed delete method of
maintenance, unless its properly good stuff)



>There are only two possibilities here. Either the et was not really et or
>what you are hearing is not a tuning/tonal observation but rather a
>musical one. Now on this latter I will wax heretically...from my former
>life as pianist I can recall a few discussions with various souls on that
>point. In particular can the same composition played in two different keys
>sound differently on a piano tuned in a perfect et? The boring
>traditional answer is no. The heretical answer is maybe, for at least two
>reasons: the position of the hand is quite different thereby resulting in
>different tone production and (probably the most significant) the altered
>position of the hand in various keys results in subtle differences in
>phrasing...I have always thought and disagreed with former teachers etc.
>to be an effect that is observable. Chopin commented on the significance
>of this change in hand position for black key keys.
>
>Stephen




Anne Beetem
Harpsichords & Historic Pianos
2070 Bingham Ct.
Reston, VA  20191
abeetem@wizard.net