Re: tuning affecting syntax: Mahler exmps retuned?

> > Yes, of course, but my question was. . . does a Mediant in e minor,
> > function differently from a mediant in g# minor?
>
> > It seem the answer would be no. . . .although, at the same time, I
> > imagine that if a piece is in a "sharp" key,
> > modulations might tend to go
> > "flat" (i.e. towards the "center"), whereas in a "flat" key,
> > modulations
> > would tend to go "sharp"
>
> This was the case pre-Beethoven. Beginning with Beethoven, though,
> composers felt free to do things like modulate flatwards by as much
> as 12 or 24 fifths, using enharmonic modulations to keep the number
> of accidentals on the page reasonable. So there was no longer any
> tendency for the modulations to go toward the "center" -- the freedom
> to go infinitely far from the center was now present, due to the
> closed tuning system.
>
>

Structurally this is true, one sees a lot more modulations through cycles
of thirds and what-note. . . yet even after Beethoven . . .I think there
was still a sense of "strangeness" (though it was increasingly irrelevant
sound-wise as ET took over) to keys with lots 'o' sharps and flats.

Surely it's no accident that the expressive passages in Wagner, or pretty
much any piece by Skryabin, are in keys with no less than 5 sharps or
flats (and plenty more late 19th century examples)?

Hence, Monz's favorite anecdote about Mahler lamenting the loss of
meantone. . . . it made these journeys into "far-off" territory
bland(er) and less meaningful . .

Speaking of this stuff, are there any MIDI or mp3's anywhere of
side-by-side comparisons of "chromatic" 19th-century music tuned to ET,
vs. meantone, or some other "unequal" tuning?

Dear Christopher,

Perhaps you are in the know about Easley Blackwood's publication? Do you know where I can acquire `The structure of recognizable diatonic tunings` online?

Cordially,
Ozan
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Bailey
To: tuning@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 04 Ocak 2005 Salı 2:11
Subject: [tuning] Re: tuning affecting syntax: Mahler exmps retuned?

> > Yes, of course, but my question was. . . does a Mediant in e minor,
> > function differently from a mediant in g# minor?
>
> > It seem the answer would be no. . . .although, at the same time, I
> > imagine that if a piece is in a "sharp" key,
> > modulations might tend to go
> > "flat" (i.e. towards the "center"), whereas in a "flat" key,
> > modulations
> > would tend to go "sharp"
>
> This was the case pre-Beethoven. Beginning with Beethoven, though,
> composers felt free to do things like modulate flatwards by as much
> as 12 or 24 fifths, using enharmonic modulations to keep the number
> of accidentals on the page reasonable. So there was no longer any
> tendency for the modulations to go toward the "center" -- the freedom
> to go infinitely far from the center was now present, due to the
> closed tuning system.
>
>

Structurally this is true, one sees a lot more modulations through cycles
of thirds and what-note. . . yet even after Beethoven . . .I think there
was still a sense of "strangeness" (though it was increasingly irrelevant
sound-wise as ET took over) to keys with lots 'o' sharps and flats.

Surely it's no accident that the expressive passages in Wagner, or pretty
much any piece by Skryabin, are in keys with no less than 5 sharps or
flats (and plenty more late 19th century examples)?

Hence, Monz's favorite anecdote about Mahler lamenting the loss of
meantone. . . . it made these journeys into "far-off" territory
bland(er) and less meaningful . .

Speaking of this stuff, are there any MIDI or mp3's anywhere of
side-by-side comparisons of "chromatic" 19th-century music tuned to ET,
vs. meantone, or some other "unequal" tuning?

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