Just tuning and "sweetness"

[A440A@aol.com]

Israel  writes: 
  
>>BTW, the much steeper increase in beat speeds from key to key that is the 
result of preserving that one pure third in Kirnberger is a price many 
musicians are not willing to pay.<< 

   I agree that the market is limited for this tuning, the only ones that 
have embraced it are the Bach fanatics and some jazz musicians, (though I have 
used it as a basis for some honky-tonk tunings I was asked to supply, it was jez 
fine).  
   The main shortcoming I have found  is the three keys with full commas in 
their thirds, and two more with 19 cents.  That is almost half the keys really 
tempered quite strongly.  There isn't a lot of places to hide, if you begin 
using black keys.   I liked it for Beethoven's "Pathetique", because it lent 
itself to dreariness. 
    In the main, I am tuning 19th century levels of tempering, but I do have 
a certain number of customers that like a well-temperament, and play 
everything on it.  These include the aforementioned Bach followers as well as country 
songwriters and jazz musicians.  My most often used choice is the Young.  
 
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html