Old behaviour (temperament)

[Dennis Johnson]

Let me throw out one more opinion regarding authenticity, which is a huge
subject.  There are separate issues between ultimately leaving something for
personal aesthetic judgment today and what may or may not be "authentic".
Liking or not liking something does not change it's historical relevance.
That much should be clear. Even though we don't have a recording of
exactly 
what tuning was typically on Beethoven's or Haydn's or Mozart's pianos,
there is a clear and not that complicated trend of what was going on. 
Tunings "with
color" were the language of keys that composers of the period worked with.
Evidence of this is all over the music. If you use a temperament with
color (more or less) you are within a general style (more or less) that
is appropriate.  I tend to choose my particular temperament based on
what works best (IMO) for a particular instrument. That is another
subject.  I make the case that this language of relationship between
keys and intervals is closer to the heart of the music than the actual
instrument.  Instruments were changing so fast at the time it was usual
for keyboard composers of the time not to even specify that clearly what
should be used.  The instruments were very expensive, they were played
very hard, and hung onto.  Which do you think Beethoven would have
jumped at first-  the modern Steinway or equal temperament? The
authentic instruments shead much light and put us even closer to the
original experience, but what is closer to the essence of that music? 
This a serious question. 

If we translate a Shakespeare play from English can we still understand what
was going on?  Of course. Did we miss something? I think so. If years from
now, due to who knows what, all recordings of a movie like Star Wars lost
their color and could only be seen in black and white- would those
people of
the future get a sense of that movie and be able to appreciate it?  Probably.
Would they miss something?  Definitely. What if King lear was performed
in English but put in a simple and rustic Greek set- as the Guthrie did
here a few years ago? Was something lost or gained? This is art. From my
experience, the more one learns about art, the less easy is to make
quick judgments about you like and don't like. 

The few recorded measurements of tunings we do have from the late 19th
century, thanks to A. Ellis,  show some actual evidence.  What does that
mean? 
Please remember there was a huge revolution going on in music and art
around the time tuners first were able to produce a real ET. This was driven
by many factors. Not the least of which was a natural desire to accomplish
something new and scientific. For me, the difference between tuners who were
doing a failed ET and those who tuned with a sense for the past depends
on if
the inequalities tend to be random. Same thing today, and there's a big difference.

That's probably long enough. I believe that I am doing the right thing and
my customers seem to agree.  If whatever you are doing seems to work for you
and your customers are happy too, good for you.  Don't you love this
country- most the time anyway. 


Dennis Johnson
St. Olaf College