from Brian McLaren

From: mclaren
Subject: items of recent interest
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[1st paragraph deleted because of style and content --JC]
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Luanne Eris Fose has published a criticial translation and
commentary on the "Musica practica" of Bartolemo Ramos de
Pareja. Her work is available in a 538 page PhD dissertation
from University of North Texas, UMI No. DA9300609.
The UMI number means this document is available from
University Microfilms. Not cheap, but worthwhile if there's
no alternative. =20
Ramos was one of the primary tuning theorists of the early
Renaissance and his 1482 work illustrates the transformation
from Pyt
$=D0rean-Boethian-Guidonian theory to theory based on
the use of new intervals--specifically, the 5/4. Johnny Reinhard
has mentioned that the 5/4 supplanted the 81/64 throughout
the European continent during hte 15th century, and this is
correct (as usual) albeit scant of detail. The full story is there's
good reason to believe that 5/4s were used as thirds as early
as the 12th century, but it took a long period of theoretical
and politcal struggle to force the hidebound Pythagorean-Boethian
hierarchy to accept the new intervals. The struggle was pretty
much over by the 15th century, when these "new" 5/4 intervals
had become so commonplace that not even the textbook writers
tried to pretend that musical practice was based on Pythagorean
paradigms. Reminiscent of the struggle which goes on today to get
the hidebound post-Webern serialist/aleatorists like Daniel J. Wolf to
recognize that 12-tet serialism is dead, modernism has discredited=20
itself, and it's time to move on from 12-tet. As in earlier eras, it'll=20
take a while for the new intervals to be accepted by the ossified=20
musical oligarchy in the universities and the conservatories.
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For those of you who want to revive the "Bach wars" (What tuning did
Bach use? ...as though anyone could possibly decide at this late date)
Harald Vogel has an interesting article called "L'interpetazione dell'opera
organistica di J.S. Bach su organi construiti nello stile della Germania
del targo XCII secolo" [The inteprertation of bach's organ works on
organs built in the North German tradition of the late 17th century],
in "Informazione organistica: Bollettino quadrimestrale
dell'Accademia di Musica Italiana per Organo di Pistoia, Vol. 3,
No. 3, Sept-Dec. 1991, pp. 22-29.=20
Alas, the translation is from German...into Italian. Those of who
don't read that language may find yourselves high and dry.
--
William Sethares published an interesting article call "Tuning for
19-tone equal tempered guitar" in EMI, Vol. 6, No. 5, April 1991,
pp. 9-11. This is an intriguing change of pace from Bill's usual
psychoacoustic & signal processing articles.
--
David Paul Goldman published an interesting article called
"A new look at Zarlino's theory and its effect on his counterpoint
doctrine," Theory and Practice, Vol. 16,1991, pp. 163-177.
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Mark Lindley and William Drake have an article about 18th
century organ intonation: "Gorvernor Chapel and the 18th-century
English organ," Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies,
Vol. 15, 1991, pp. 90-117
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Christopher Kent has a similar article with a wider focus:
"Tuning and temperament and the British organ, 1750-1850:
A century of change viewed through the repertoire," Journal of
the British Institute of Organ studies," Vol. 14, 1990, pp. 21-34.
--
A particularly provocative article is David Courtney's
"Tuning the tabla: A psychoacoustic perspective," Percussive
Notes, Vol. 29, No. 3, February 1991, pp. 59-61. The bibliography
at the end of the article is especially useful.
--
Miroslav Karel Cerny has an article which will appeal to those
microtonalists who read Czech:=20
"K otazce realne podoby a zformovani starooeckych stupnic a
organizace tonoveho materialu," in Hudebni veda, Vol. 28, No. 3,
1991, pp. 207-219. The title of the article, by the way,
means "The actual shaping and forming of ancient Greek scales
and organization of tonal materials." Anyone want to publish
an English translation?
--
Coralee Rockwell has published a translation of the original=20
of Cheng Yingshi's "A report on Chinese research into the
Dunhuang music manuscipts," Musica asiatica, Vol. 6,
1991, pp. 61-72. Since you are scholars, the importance
of the Dunhuang manuscripts in determining Chinese 10th
century pip'a tunings is obvious.
--
Antonio Corona-Alcalde has another take on the inimitable
Luis Milan's Delphic lute-tuning instructions. "'You will raise
a little your 4th fret:' an equivocal instruction by Luis
Milan?" Galpin Society journal, Vol. 33, March 1991, pg. 2-45.
Mark Lindley has opined at length on this subject in "Lutes,
Viols and Temperament," but another viewpoint is always=20
useful.
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Those microtonalists who read Czech should also check out
Pavel Cip and Joseph Rezney's "Ceske dudy: Vyroba, sdobeni, ladeni,"
in Straknoce-Zubi: Blok, 1991. [The Czech bagpipe: building,
decoration, tuning]
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Asante Darkwa has an article on "Sengeya dance music: Its
instrumental resources and performance," in African Music,
Vol. 7, No. 1, 1991, pp. 48-54
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Gerhard Stradner has an article "Stimtonhohe, Tonarten- und=20
Klangcharakter," [Tuning standard, key and tonal characteristics]
in: Die Klangwelt Mozart. Wien: Kunsthistrische Museum,
1991, pp. 109-122.
If the historical museums of Vienna are starting to recognize
that Mozart may not have used strict 12-tet, well, lord
a'mighty--we ALL bein' xenharmonized now, chilluns!
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Peter Bavington and Miles Hellon chip in with their bid in
the historical tuning sweepstakes in "Evidence of historical
temperament from fretted clavichords," FoMRHI quarterly,
No. 64, July 1991, pp. 55-58
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In the same journal, Felix Raudonikas has an article called
"Essays of Pythagorean system. I: Primary concepts. II:
Two-dimensional syntax; III: three-dimensional syntax,"
FoMRHI quarterly, No. 64, July 1991, pp. 44-54, no. 65,
October 1991, pp. 25-40.
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Franz Josef Rattner has an PhD thesis called "Die Temperatur der
Clavierinstrumnete: Quellenstudien zu den theoretischen Grundlangen
und praktischen Anwendungen von der Antike bis in 17. Jahrhundert,"
available from the University of Munster, 1987. NO UMI number,
so probably *not* available on university microfilm, alas.=20
The title of thesis means: "The temperament of keyboard instruments:
source studies in the theoretical principles and practical=20
applications, from antiquity to the 17th century." Sounds
fascinating and invaluable.
Anyone want to publish an English translation?
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Those of you in Tashkent may want to pick up a copy of Abduvali
Abdurasivi's PhD disseration in Ethnomusicology, at the Institut istorii
iskusstvo im. Hamza Haquim-Zade from 1991. Title is=20
"Tanbur i ego funcija v izucenii ladovoj sistemy sasmakoma."
Since you're scholars, you already know that the title means
"The tanbur and its function in the study of the modal system
of sasmaqam."
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The redoubtable Manfred Stahnke has another interesting
entry: "Ornung and 'Chaos' in komplexen musikalischen
Stimmsystemen auf der basis naturreiner Intervalle,"
[Order and 'chaos' in kcomplex musical tuning systems
based on just intervals] in Musikalische Gestaltung im=20
Spannungsfeld von Ordnung und Chaos. Wien: Universal, 1991,
pp. 136-148.
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Vincent Dehoux has a fascinating follow-up to Frederic Voisin's
pioneering studies of central african tunings: "Typologie et
modalites de jeu des xylophones centrafricains," [Typology
and modalities in Central African xylophone playing] Analyse=20
musicale, no. 23, April 1991, pp. 36-41. This articles offers
yet more evidence against any kind of use of small-integer-ratio
intervals in Central Africa.
--
Martin Vogel has authored several notable titles and
put them out using his Orpheus publishing
house: "Musiktheater. V: Stucke fur Salzburg," no. 50 in
the Verlag fur systematische musikwisscenschaft.
Also "Die Enharmonische Gitarre" [The microtonal guitar], No. 45
in the series from 1986. Martin Vogel is a highly overlooked
exponent of 7-limit just intonation, and he's built quite a
few diferent instruments to realize his system of just
intonation. Someone should pen a detailed article about him
for 1/1...
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Those of you who read Japanese (are you listening, Mayumi?)
will find an article in that lingo about quartertone microtonalist
Alois Haba: "Alois Haba no 'atarashii ongaku-yoshiki:' Gengaku
shijusokyoku 12 no baai," in Musashino ongaku daigaku kekyo
kiyo, Vol. 24, 1992, pp. 17-36. The title means, of course,
"Alois Haba's new music style in the string quartet op. 12."
(This was the quartertone string quartet performed at the
first Donauschingen new music festival in 1921, and represents
Haba's definitive break with conventional intonation.)
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For another Japanese morsel on xenharmonics, try=20
Chikako Katayama's "Theinred of Dover ni okeru kyowa-gainen,"
in Tokyo geijutsu-daigaku ongaku-gakubu kiyo, Vol. 17, 1991,
pp. 21-44. [Theinred of Dover's concept of the degree of
consonance]
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Of course not all of you will read Japanese; some will
doubtless prefer Slovenian. For those readers, try
Bruno Ravnikar's "Tartini in kombinacijksi toni," [Tartini
and combination tones], in Musikoloski zbornik, Vol. 28,
1992, pp. 41-46.
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Especially noteworthy is John Noble Moye II's PhD thesis
"The psychoacoustics of musical sound: An annotated
bibliography." PhD disseration, Florida State University,
468 pages, UMI No. DA 9124629. This one *is* available
on University Microfilms!
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For more about Alois Haba (gee, for a composer whose
music was described by one zipperhead 'modern music
expert' as 'having insufficient inner life to prove=20
interesting,' well....gosh, there are sure a lot of articles
about and performances of his music, aren't there?)
try "Svoboda, struktura a forma v hudhe Aloise Haby,"
in Opus Musicum, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1991, pp. 81-84
[Freedom structure and form in the music in the
music of Alois Haba]. The article is written in Czech,
naturally. Or Czestina as they say over there.
--mclaren
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