well temperament defined

[A440A@aol.com]

Avery asks: 
<< While we're sort of on the subject of definitions, why is a Victorian 
called that?
What makes it different from a "normal" WT? << 

  I call them "Victorian" because Jorgensen did.  It appears that he does so 
because it was in the Victorian era that the well-temperaments became so mild 
that they were called equal, even though, by contemporary standards, they are 
not equal, at all.  The Moore & Co, Broadwood's, and Coleman tunings are all 
within the definition of Well-Tempered as it is being used today, so I have 
no quibble calling them well-temperaments.  "Victorian tuning can also apply 
to what we see as "quasi-ET" that Owen documents, so maybe a more accurate 
term could be "Victorian well-temperaments" if we want to distinguish between 
mild WT and quasi-ET.  I suppose how far one wants to carry the delineation 
is a matter of personal preference or utility.  
   I basically see temperaments as falling into three categories:  Meantone, 
with its restrictions, Well-tempered, with its tonal palette, and equal, with 
neither.  There is, of course, some overlapping between these, and as our 
CD's meantone Scarlatti shows, MT can be used without suffering from its 
restriction,and  ET can pleasantly be used for Mozart, etc. This doesn't 
necessarily mean that the maximum impact is obtained by these uses, but 
emotional impact is not easily measured,(especially scientifically), since it 
depends on the listener, too.  
 
Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html