more on this temperament thing

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Ric writes: 
>>This (stretching)  is only possible because of ET.  With 5ths all over the
place in HT's you don't have this option.    That is the other thing that
is exasperating about HT's, the tests are either non existant or so
so few it takes 3 times as long and that much more tuning to make
corrections.  And that is just in the bearings.<<

     Hmm,  any of the earlier temperaments are much easier to achieve that 
ET.  ET is a very unforgiving structure, everything has to be aligned in a 
variety of ways.  A well- temperament, otoh, is simply a musical philosophy 
made manifest, and it is a mistake to apply the 20th century demands for 
precision.  Yes,  they can be loose in their execution and still provide the 
tonal palette that earlier composers used. Yes, they can vary from one tuning 
to the next and still be recognized.  
    It is much like comparing an architects drawing of a building (ET) to an 
artists rendition of it,(WT).  The image is the same, but one is dependant on 
accuracy and the other, art.  Agreed, an architect can be an artist in their 
work, but we are talking about the image produced, and there are profound 
differences between an clinical elevation and an artist's rendition. 

<<I know a machine makes all of this easier, and perhaps the machine, of
all the ironies, only makes historical tuning possible on modern pianos.
So we are content with what the machine imposes....nah I wouldn't say that.>>

    Content with an impostion??  That is one perspective, however, the 
majority of pianists, in my experience, are more than content, they are 
stunned at how much they had been missing.  As far as "irony", I offer two 
facts: 
1.   history has shown that technology drives intonational changes. 
2.   Intonation, in Western music, has changed continually since the days of 
Pythagoras. 

   I would pose a question in return.  Are we to believe that with the 
realization of a true equal temperament, that the historical evolution of 
intonation has come to an end?   
Regards, 
Ed Foote RPT