Sorry, I pushed the wrong button and sent my post before I was finished. In a message dated 12/13/99 5:29:31 AM Pacific Standard Time, A440A@AOL.COM writes: << Now that you mention it, I don't think George Gershwin ever said a thing about temperament, so is it reasonable to think he may have actually had a well tempered tuning on his composing piano? I don't think so, his music seems to be best served by a temperament that we know was in use when he worked. What about Rachmaninoff? >> I have heard people say that both Gershwin and Rachmaninoff must have used ET. I have also heard that just about everybody since Bach must have too. There is plenty of evidence to show that near ET but not quite ET Victorian style temperaments and even some milder Meantones persisted during the times these composers were working. Both their music and the ones mentioned later in Ed's post, Cole Porter and Eubie Blake and really any music I have ever heard that was anything that had some kind of melody to it, was very tonal, even if it did have extended chords and chromatic modulating. Some stronger WT's and MT's may produce some questionably objectionable roughness, but a good choice of a Victorian expresses all of this music very well. It adds a dimension that ET lacks without introducing unnecessary harshness and rough modulations. All you have to do is produce a really good tuning to hear it for yourself. Mozart doesn't sound much better in a Victorian than he does in ET, however. The Bach WT Clavier music can sound good though because it does explore all of the keys. Later Beethoven and Brahms are well served by Victorian although they are not specific for it. Just my opinion. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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