WTC

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Greetings all, 
Ah,  just as I was leaving the jousting field, someone flashes a 
blade............

.Richard writes:
> This is all conjecture because there is no direct historical evidence
>as to which temperament Bach intended for WTC.


    I agree with Richard's words, but they do not exclude an equal 
temperament for the WTC, and I think they should.   True there is no direct 
historical evidence as to which temperament Bach intended *for* the WTC, 
however,  there is a direct quote from his son, CPE Bach that his father did 
NOT prefer ET.  
   There is also the lack of anyboy's writings about HOW to tune ET, plus the 
fact that ET is poorly done by anyone that doesn't do a lot of it, ( I know 
this to be true today), and who would have been a tuner in those days?  
    We hear of Bach "tuning his clavier in 15 minutes", (maybe a clavichord, 
maybe a harpsichord, I have seen both mentioned).   Now the old man might 
have been an incredible tuner, but most of us that do it every day ain't 
slouches, either.  A simpler temperament would have been available in maybe 
three minutes, but a credible  ET in that time is going to be a real chore.  
We should try it ourselves to get a gauge of what we are considering. Ever 
try to tune a harpsichord to ET in 15?  I did, and they never asked me bach! 
     So,  I submit that the tuning Bach had in mind was one or another of the 
 many unequal tunings that were being proposed at the time, (Werckmiester has 
the odds in my book), and not in a tuning that was out of favor by the 
author. I think ET  and the pre 1700 meantones could accurately be excluded 
for the WTC. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote
(saddling up the the ol' flame-walking horse..........(:)}})