(careful, it is about temperaments)

[A440A@aol.com]

David writes:

<< Just to add, there is also a Beethoven Sonata in F# and many Chopin pieces
in 4 and 5 flats, not to mention the Brahms B major Trio, that I personally
prefer in ET.  >>

    Ah yes,  Beethoven composed one sonata in F#, and it is, by most accounts 
I have gotten from musicologists, somewhat odd.  I had one accomplished 
pianist try a WT with this piece and she remarked that it was the first time that 
it had ever made harmonic sense to her!  
    Chopin's music makes much use of the juxtapostion of a very active 
harmony against a pure melodic line,(those fifths in the remote keys are pure).  Our 
recording in a DeMorgan temperament(effectively a reversed order well 
temperament),  was strictly an academic excercise, but many people have thought it 
sounded really fine, too.  
    When we compile a list of classical compositions, by key, we see that 
usage of a key depends on where on the circle of fifths it is, with the key of C 
used most, and the key of F# used least.  The order of ascent in usage mimics 
the amount of tempering in a WT, too. 
    When compared to the tempering of WT's , we see that prevelance of key 
usage directly correlates to the amount of tempering in the tonic key.  This 
linkage was most pronounced prior to 1700, where we see the meantone wolf keys 
completely avoided by most.  As the 18-19th centuries passed, we see a general 
trend of less and less contrast in the temperaments that directly correlates 
with the increasing democracy of key usage.  By the time of Rachmaninoff, Ravel, 
Gershwin, etc.  the temperament has become equal, and the use of all 12 keys 
almost even.  However, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and otheres of their day 
certainly did not use the remote keys nearly as much as they did ones with less 
dissonance.   
    Anybody care to offer an explanation of why composers chose the keys that 
they did, if not differences in temperament?  (Rita Steblin's book should be 
required reading for all tuners). 

Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html