[CAUT] historic temp thoughts

[Israel Stein]

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:23:57 -0700 Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote:

> 	To the original question, about what tuning would be appropriate, ET  
> would definitely be my second choice, but from my own knowledge, I  
> would put it in a ratio of at least 9:1 in favor of 1/4 mean tone  
> unless there was compelling evidence otherwise. I'll note that in your  
> example (which I certainly accept absolutely as an informed decision  
> on the part of authoritative people), "the remainder performed in mean  
> tone" (including their harpsichord and organ). So I wonder whether  
> having the lutes and harpsichords tuned together is more important  
> than having the winds, voices and harpsichord together. Someone has to  
> be out of tune with someone. The lutes are stuck. The harpsichord  
> isn't. So I would stick to my advice, and let them "make do." The  lute's decay is pretty fast - it should be the odd one out.
Sorry, Fred, it isn't quite that simple. What I see in the 
instrumentation list for this performance is an Archlute. If it is used 
as a melody instrument (typical for 16th century music) then you are 
correct. If it is used as a continuo instrument - which happens more and 
more in 17th century music - then there are problems. The Archlute is a 
resonant instrument and does not decay all that quickly - especially in 
the low strings. It competes quite successfully with the harpsichord, in 
terms of volume and decay. (I don't even want to open the question of 
what type of harpsichord is being used - if it a copy of a French 
instrument, the archlute wins hands down). If the archlute is used as a 
continuo instrument (and I do see Monteverdi on the program - so it is 
possible) then any chords that occur on cadences or other harmonically 
important points would have to be tuned from the bass up - and not the 
other way around. So in this instrumentation, the other instruments 
would need to defer to the archlute rather than the other way around - 
since it may be carrying that bass continuo function. The harpsichord - 
at least harmonically - is the least important instrument in such an 
ensemble, since its function is to provide the rhythmic precision of the 
continuo (well, with a plucked archlute continuo this is not quite as 
important) and some harmonic "fill" for the overall texture (basically, 
added color). The decisions as to who should defer to whom have to be 
based on the particular repertoire and what function the archlute 
carries in it - and not on any rule of thumb or conjecture.

Israel Stein