Microtonality

I think the idea is, a single tuning suffices -- Bach wrote the WTC to take advantage of the specific moods of the differing intervals of each key, so that each piece is very distinct

I found the reference to the Grove's error, and unsurprisingly it's Kyle Gann's article on historical tunings, a lot of which is obviously the source for my posts on this thread: http://www.kylegann.com/histune.html

at the end of which, Gann points out Robert Levin's recording of the WTC -- I just ordered book one. Gann also lists the two Enid Katahn CDs on Gasparo, which I have, the Beethoven one is very subtle, the Six Degrees of Tonality one is a lot more striking

from Gann's article:

Because it determines what sounds good, tuning has a pervasive influence on compositional tendencies. Every piece of pitched music is the expression of a tuning. Meantone encouraged composers to use major and minor triads, to avoid open perfect fifths without thirds, and to not stray more than three or four steps in the circle of fifths away from a central key. Renaissance and early Baroque music played in meantone sounds seductively sweet and attractive. By playing it in modern equal temperament, we do violence to its essential nature. Perhaps that's why this repertoire is no longer often heard. It's been painted over with the ugly gray of equal temperament.

and later

Playing Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in today's equal temperament is like exhibiting Rembrandt paintings with wax paper taped over them.

what we really need, and what I've been unable to find anywhere, is a list of recordings of 17th to 19th century classical music that actually performed in historical tuning systems instead of equal temperament. It's a tragedy. You can get a little ways by googling for names of pieces + 'werckmeister III', but... there's not too much out there, and not too many people even know to mention it...

I did order the Robert Levin recording of WTC book I mentioned in my last post. It's enjoyable. The Ottavio Dantone WTC book I & II on Arts Music, though -- they are beyond belief, so well recorded it's surreal -- it captures everything, profoundly beautiful.

I also forgot that I had Johnny Reinhard's American Festival of Microtonal Music Orchestra's 'Early' CD which has two Brandenberg's in period tunings. It's a live concert / room recording, but it's a good disc.

You mean Period Performance and so on, yes?

Not a lot on tuning..but its a wiki page. xp

My comp professor met Partch one day and, after being friends with Cage and Feldman and the rest of 'em, says that Partch was the weirdest motherfucker he will ever meet.

He also told us to bring our drugs to the final.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Dec06/Partch_Enclosure7_Innova%20407.htm

Very much correct on the 'indiefication' of everything. So is the line about 'understanding even less the standard repertoire', among other things.

Having listened to some Babbitt, and when I heard that B ws into early jazz and broadway tunes that made sense - the odd jumpy passage that makes it onto his work for violin and piano, for example. I feel this aspect makes it onto his work, even if unconciously.

I must check out the Dantone WTC - thanks for the tip.

Thread Microtonal jazz has had new posts, with some distinctly non-jazzy tracks by ILEVENS and Sevish.

Just after this page's last update in '07...

one legendary group took party rock to strange new places. (with thanks to https://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?showall=true&bookmarkedmessageid=206&boardid=41&threadid=59934 )

'Van Halen really screws up "Jump"'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXPM6d9IdiY

I can’t tell which is funnier, this long-hated cheesebag-anthem turned into a much more interesting, atonal mess in front of thousands of paying customers or the hilarious soldiering on of the Van Halens as they look at each other from inside the trainwreck. Eddie tries to transpose on the fly and match the wildly fucked up keyboards but the great thing there is the difference in pitch is non-musical – about 1.5 semitones sharp. So there’s no frets he can choose to fix the problem! – (RW370)