I'm referring to the minor thirds in MT that that nauseously sound more
neutral than minor.
RT
On 7/20/2019 12:35 PM, Matthew Daillie wrote:
Yes, there are minor thirds in 1/4 comma meantone that are wider than in equal
temperament and so closer to pure (they beat less)! Minor thirds in equal
temperament are more than 15 cents narrower than pure.
Maybe you were referring to augmented seconds (in meantone, enharmonic
accidentals are no longer the same). Obviously one has to choose between, say,
a D# and an Eb (unless you have a keyboard with split accidentals).
Best,
Matthew
Le 20 juil. 2019 à 16:45, [email protected] a écrit :
It is a lot more harrowing to hear the minor 3rds that are too wide, resulting
from various masochistic temperaments.
And the use of the latter in music that contains chromaticism is simply
insufferable.
RT
====
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Feci quod potui. Faciant meliora potentes.
On Jul 20, 2019, at 10:28 AM, Matthew Daillie <[email protected]> wrote:
It has been well-documented that the instructions published by Robert Dowland
in the Varietie of Lute Lessons are critically flawed (see Lindley pp. 81-83).
It is highly probable that something close to equal temperament was used during
the renaissance period but so were several variants of meantone temperament.
The latter favours pure major thirds and creates major and minor semitones with
far more character than equal temperament, notably for the many chromatic
passages prevalent in renaissance music. I think a deeper understanding of
temperaments is a prerequisite for playing early music and much can be learned
by looking at how other instruments were tuned. 1/4 comma meantone was clearly
used on early keyboards and it would be pretty unthinkable today to listen to a
performance of 16th century Italian music or the English virginalists in equal
temperament (obviously as we move into the baroque period, circulating
temperaments were adopted that favoured purer fifths rather than pure major
thirds).
When one gets used to playing a piece in 1/4 comma meantone with its pure,
beatless major thirds, it can be quite a harrowing experience to go back to
equal temperament as one is conscious of just how much crucial intervals beat
and everything appears to be out of tune. It is not necessarily easy to adapt
meantone successfully to the lute, but it can be done with time and careful
adjustments of frets and the addition of tastini. 1/5 comma meantone is quite
popular amongst major lutenists and although the thirds are no longer pure, it
does impart far more character than equal temperament and does not require such
extreme fret placement (which can be particularly uncomfortable on the short
string length of a lute in a', for example). If one has access to an early
keyboard and the help of an experienced player, it can be easier to appreciate
the fundamentals of various temperaments than on the lute (metal strings
facilitate the detection of beatless intervals).
Rather than being a daunting prospect, the use of meantone temperaments on the
lute can add further enjoyment to one's playing and enrich our musical world.
Best,
Matthew
Le 20 juil. 2019 à 13:22, Ron Andrico <[email protected]> a écrit :
Tristan, the various alternative temperaments may sound nice for a
narrow repertory with the excepted odd note, but musicians who
understand music and who explore the more interesting repertory for
lute follow the precepts of Galilei, which approximates equal
temperament.
RA
__________________________________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf
of Tristan von Neumann <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2019 4:04 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [LUTE] Lute Temperaments
I know this is a wide topic...
Today, I changed my fret setup from Gerle to Dowland (Thanks to Mr.
Niskanen and his marvellous calculator), because I mostly play later
16th century music.
It sounds somewhat "brighter" in the keys preferred then.
Maybe I will also try what Galilei recommended.
Which one did you try and which one do you prefer (for solo playing).
What are your thoughts on character vs. versatility?
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