Richard writes: << but it does seem to me that David is talking about the Key of E major here, which he states has more colour in the Young compared to the Broadwood<< David writes: >>Those thirds contribute substantially to the character of E major. I agree that the cumulative amount of tempering is greater in the Young, but the amounts don't necessarily make a huge difference in the way the key of E sounds in a Broadwood vs a Young. In comparing these two temperaments, the tonic thirds are identical, the V is only 4 cents wider in the Young and the IV is only 2 cents difference. I don't find those differences enough to warrant calling one "fairly active" and the other "dissonant". Yes the Young provides more contrast, but I don't hear it as dissonant. now, for some slight assistance from the established literature of today, I went to the new Groves today, and would like to just toss the following onto the fire: (I'd hate for somebody to think I just made all this up!) According to Schindler, in 1860: "Beethoven in his last years maintained a keen interest in expressive characteristics of different keys and suggested they were most apparent in piano music. << Lindley writes: "It is unclear to what extent Beethoven may have attributed the difference to acoustical factors, but his piano music does in fact benefit from an 18th century unequal temperament" ( Lindley 1997 chap. 5) Regards, Ed
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