[CAUT] historic temp thoughts

[Fred Sturm]

On Dec 1, 2009, at 4:21 PM, Israel Stein wrote:

> I distinctly remember how the keyboard instruments were arranged.  
> There were three harpsichords, an organ and a regal (that's a reed  
> organ) in that orchestra. The strings, chittarone, and violone were  
> in the pit stage right, with their own harpsichord and the organ.  
> The winds (trumpet - Fred Holmgren who is also a piano tuner -   
> sackbuts and cornetti) were stage left, with their own harpsichord,  
> the regal, and the harp. The two harpsichords were nearly identical  
> John Phillips instruments - so tone color was not the issue.  The  
> third harpsichord was with the stage band - which also included a  
> couple viols and a recorder.


	Now this description rings true. I don't see a description of two  
orchestras, one made up of fretted instruments and a harpsichord, the  
other with other instruments. I see a description of a mixture of  
instruments in each separate orchestral grouping, each including  
instruments that would normally be playing in mean tone. Definitely a  
different picture from the one you first painted, of one mean tone and  
one ET grouping.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu