Authentic chamber music tuning

What requirements must a tuning for chamber music, sans piano, satisfy
in order for the tuning to be considered authentic? Is 12-et always
authentic? When is extended meantone authentic?

I've been working on an extended meantone version of the first
movement of the Brahms string quartet #3, op 67, and listening to the
Monzified Cavatina movement from Beethoven's op 130. It's pretty hard
to argue that these versions are any less authentic than a midi file
in strict 12
equal would be, and doing this demonstrates that extended meantone an
deal with quite a lot of harmonic complexity. It also sounds damned good.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Gene Ward Smith" <gwsmith@s...> wrote:
>
> I've been working on an extended meantone version of the first
> movement of the Brahms string quartet #3, op 67

It's now in the 31 equal folder over on tuning files. I'd be
interested to hear reactions.

<What requirements must a tuning for chamber music,
sans piano, satisfy in order for the tuning to be
considered authentic? >
I would suggest to have a look at the instruments. The
string quartet is the only surviving consort group,
and the instruments have no frets, so the only real
"authentic tuning" question is how wide or narrow you
tune the open string fifths. But if you include a
flute for instance, than up to 1849 when Boehm
presented the modern keyed ET flute, you had
completely different instruments. The Mozart
transverse flute was a 4-keyed descendant of the
Baroque flute, to which more and more keys were added
during Beethoven's and Schubert's time, until then
Boehm cut the Gordian knot. But even today modern
flutists will use intonation to make the thirds purer
than the construction of the instrument suggests.
"Authentic" has a time signature, and modern musicians
reflect both times, their own and that of the
composer. So what you need is a hermeneutical
tuning....:)
Michael

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