Bach? Puhleeze?

Hstick writes:

> from what I understand, eq temps evolved precisely to
>play music that modulated a lot (Bach), and the trade off is less purity
>of tuning for increased compositional flexibility.

I have to speak up when ET and Bach are found in the same
sentence, I suppose Pavlov was right.......

The well tempering schemes of the early 1700's offered a lot of tonal
resources. Some of these temperaments had a palette of thirds that ranged
from pure to tempered by a full syntonic comma. This is very different from
ET, is it not? In fact, these early temperaments, ala Werckmiester, can be
seen as the basis of compositional imperatives. ( observe the different
constructions of the WTC 1).
I suppose my ignorance is in the variations of dissonance that exist in
all of these exotic ET's that are so often discussed on this list, but the
soul of ET's is very different from the variety found in a Well Temperament.
Am I to understand that the goal of getting into more than 12 TET is to
find purity in all intervals? If so, is that not BORING?
Regards,
Ed Foote
Precision Piano Works
Nashville, Tn.


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