More on Bach

Dear Mr. Kellner...actually, I don't despise intellectual pursuits;
nothing wrong with a highly developed intellect at all. However,
intellect without the corresponding spiritual depth is meaningless to
me. That, in fact, is precisely why the music of Bach is so important to
me...he combined the intellectual and spiritual in a way that is rare on
this planet, and he produced a music that will last the eons. And,
because of his great gift, we'll all be listening to, and analyzing, his
art for ages to come.
I do have a question, which I've been wondering about for years; why
didn't Bach write about his tuning concepts himself? There was obviously
a lot happening in the tuning field at that time in Germany, and Bach
was, surely, a Maestro on the subject. Of course, maybe one can never
know; but, it's something I've always been curious
about...onward...Hstick

Neil Haverstick schrieb:
> Dear Mr. Kellner...actually, I don't despise intellectual pursuits;
> nothing wrong with a highly developed intellect at all. However,
> intellect without the corresponding spiritual depth is meaningless to
> me. That, in fact, is precisely why the music of Bach is so important to
> me...he combined the intellectual and spiritual in a way that is rare on
> this planet, and he produced a music that will last the eons. And,
> because of his great gift, we'll all be listening to, and analyzing, his
> art for ages to come.
> I do have a question, which I've been wondering about for years; why
> didn't Bach write about his tuning concepts himself?

Dear Neil,

>From listening: do you think Das wohltemeprirte Clavier sounds
better in E.T. or in "wohltemperirt"?

It would be natural that you and myself as well, we would have written and
duly specified the system "Werckmeister/Bach/wohltemperirt". I not only
specified, but even had patented the system "wohltemperirt". This was
feasible because the German patent authorities recognized an underlying
technological progress!

But please consider: Why did Kuhnau pose a riddle on Gematria (=Bach's
Gematria/Dieben) in the preface to his Biblische Historien Sonaten??
Why did Bach produce R�tselkanons? Quaerendo invenietis??
Apparently, posing enigmas was an intellectual "sport" in the Baroque
epoch and challenging the others.

To find the suitable temperament replacing Mean-tone was in this domain
and context the actual, THE BURNING problem. Bach didn't even state
that there was a riddle hidden and the problem of the sheer existence
of that riddle had to be solved beforehand.

Had you read all of Werckmeister, you would recognize the wealth of
spirituality, of musico-theological nature. Essentially on tri-unitary
symbolism of musical triads. All this entered as fervently glowing
Christian creed and spirituality entered via "wohltemperirt" into all
of Bach's music, notwithstanding that it required a good deal of rational
mathematics.
Bach's essentially symmetrical signet (=UNITAS) is crowned by a
trefle (=TRINITAS).

There was obviously
> a lot happening in the tuning field at that time in Germany, and Bach
> was, surely, a Maestro on the subject. Of course, maybe one can never
> know; but, it's something I've always been curious
> about...onward...Hstick
>
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