HAMing it up

Joseph Perhson said:
>
> The mention of the name Willi Apel in our Solage discussion brought to
> mind not *only* the _Harvard Dictionary of Music_ but *HAM,* the
> _Historical Anthology of Music_ for which Willi Apel edited all the
> Medieval selections...

As it happens, I took a graduate class at Indiana University from the
revered Dr. Apel. The only opportunity to earn a grade in the class was a
one-question aural "exam" at the end of the semester. (Yes, I did get an
"A." But only because I happened to get a question I knew something about.)
I hope his research skills were better than his teaching skills.
>
> Most students, of course, have this book as a reference, and it is
> certainly a handy compendium... It struck me, however, that practically
> NONE of the pieces in Volume I, which contains Oriental, Medieval and
> Renaissance music, would be in the tuning system implied by the notation:
> 12-tET.

Unfortunately, Capitol Records did not have a branch office in any of the
ancient centers of musical art. And casting ancient tunes into a "best
guess" notation that was developed for later musical styles is not a
particularly solid foundation on which to assume any particular tunings.

For what it's worth.

Jerry.