source file: mills2.txt Date: Tue, 1 Jul 1997 18:15:54 +0200 Subject: RE: Historical Questions From: Daniel Wolf I have the impression that most, if not all, recent recordings of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier on 'historical instruments' are in some variety of historical tuning. In fact, it is such a commonplace that it won't normally get mentioned in the liner notes - but is immediately audible. Starting with Dutch early music specialists in the sixties, most professional harpsichordists and fortepianists have done their own tuning, and usuallywith a single tuning fork (typically using the A440A as Bb to get something something close to A415). Learning to set meantone, a Kirnberger or a Werkmeister by ear isn't terribly hard - while tuning 12tet is really specialist work unless you're using a digital tuner or a strobe. At both of my Universities in the States, and here at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule, the early keyboard faculty and students are themselves responsible for tuning the instruments. There has been some influence on the piano world as well - Keith Jarrett, enthused by Lou Harrison's _Concerto for Piano with Selected Orchestra_ keeps a piano tuned (by himself) in Kirnberger II, and has released recordings using it. In the organ world, it has become standard practice to build new or to restore old tracker organs in historical tunings, in some cases with split keys. The Oregonian composer Douglas Leedy has made a small career out ofcommissions for new pieces for new organs in historical temperaments. Along these lines, I guess that Ligeti's _Passacaglia Ungarese_ was the first work in this century to be composed specifically for a meantone instrument (Harpsichord). Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Tue, 1 Jul 1997 18:20 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA03046; Tue, 1 Jul 1997 18:20:45 +0200 Date: Tue, 1 Jul 1997 18:20:45 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA03037 Received: (qmail 21932 invoked from network); 1 Jul 1997 16:17:45 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 1 Jul 1997 16:17:45 -0000 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu