source file: m1383.txt
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1998 08:14:49 -0500 (CDT)

Subject: Re: Jorgensen & Ramble

From: Paul Hahn <Paul-Hahn@library.wustl.edu>

On Sun, 12 Apr 1998, A440A wrote:
>    As is Jorgensen's much larger book "Tuning";  Michigan State University
> Press; East Lansing, Michigan; 1991.  This is a more focused look at the era
> betwen 1600 and 1900, and deals with the transitional stage from "restrictive
> to non-restrictive" styles; (very little on JI, good solid meantones,( a few),
> and a wide variety of the well temperaments).  It is presently considered the
> "Bible" of tuning theory by many historical tuners, as it provides a context
> for the last 800 years of "Technologically-Driven Intonation",  (as McClaren
> would say) 

Jorgensen _is_ quite useful, but I would like to add the caveat that his
scholarship is considered faulty by many, including several on the
Harpsichord list.  I'm not familiar with all the reasons, but one which
would be important to members of _this_ list is that he takes the term
"equal-beating" far more literally and exactly than historical writers
did.  Thus, while his EB versions of various tunings may be convenient
to tune, they should not be thought of as being particularly
historically accurate.

--pH <manynote@lib-rary.wustl.edu> http://library.wustl.edu/~manynote
    O
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