B. Haynes Beyond Temperament

Beyond Temperament: Non-Keyboard Intonation in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Author(s): Bruce Haynes

Source: Early Music, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Aug., 1991), pp. 356-365+367-370+372-381
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3127775 .
Accessed: 20/02/2014 18:13
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Early Music.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Bruce Haynes
temperament:
non-keyboard
in the
and
centuries
intonation
18th
17th
Beyond
rather, middle of the 15th century in response to the need for

temperament;
Mysystemis notbasedon anykeyboard
it displaysthe soundsfoundon unrestricted
instruments
like better 3rds. Mean-tone favours 3rds: in order to get them
the cello,violinetc,thatcanplaypurelyin tune ...
low enough, the 5ths must suffer by being tuned small.6
(Georg Philipp Telemann,'Neues musicalischesSystem', Because of its one great advantage, practicality, equal
1743/4)
'Temperaments'are closed systems designed to help

make the intonation of instruments with immovable
pitch (like the organ and harpsichord)convincing. But
singers and players of stringed and wind instruments
have no such limitations-'temperament' is too rigid a
concept to apply to them.
Since keyboardtemperamentshavebeen studied and
discussed for some time,1it seems odd that the intonation of singersand orchestralinstrumentshas had very
little attention.2It is a subjectthatis much harderto treat
quantitatively,as it dependsso much on context.Playing
'in tune' is a relativeand verypersonalaffair,and no set
of rules or abstractions from practice can possibly
encompassits complexities,or substitutefor an alertear
and a willing spirit. But certainbasic assumptionsof a
singer or violinist in the 17th and 18th centuries concerning intonation were quite differentfrom ours, and
an understandingof them is not only usefulin everyday
ensemble work, but adds an unexploredexpressiveelement to Baroqueand Classicalperformance.Ultimately,
using the available historical information, early
musicians must work out this question for themselves.3
The appendixto this articlethereforepresentsextensive
extractsfrom originalsourceson non-keyboardtuning.4
Historic expedients to the tuning problem

It is a troublesome physical fact that it is not possible,
either in theory or practice,to combine both pure 5ths
and pure major3rds in the same tuning system.A series
of four pure 5ths placed above each other (for instance,
C-G, G-D, D-A, A-E) will produce a major3rd (C-E)
considerablywiderthan pure.This is calledPythagorean
tuning, a tuning commonly used in the MiddleAges;the
5ths are pure, which means the 3rds are large-larger
even than in equal temperament.'A different system,
mean-tone temperament, became common by the
temperament had some adherents even in the 18th century and before, but the attitude of one writer of the time
was probably typical: it produced, he wrote, a 'harmony
extremely coarse and disagreeble'.7Sauveur in 1707 said
equal temperament 'is used [only] among the least able
instrumentalists, because it is simple and easy'.8
By contrast, the most common tuning of the time was
described by a number of writers, including Telemann
and Quantz, and was engagingly summarized by the
singer and musical theorist Pier Francesco Tosi, who
wrote in 1723:
Everyoneknows that there is a Semitone Major and Minor,
because the Difference cannot be known [i.e. played] by an
Organ or Harpsichord,if the Keysof the Instrumentare not
split. A Tone, that graduallypasses to another,is divided into
nine almost imperceptibleIntervals,which are called Comma's,five of which constitutethe SemitoneMajor,and four the
Minor.... If one were continuallyto sing only to those abovemention'd Instruments [the organ and harpsichord], this
Knowledge might be unnecessary;but since the time that
Composers introduced the Custom of crowding the Opera's
with a vast Number of Songs accompaniedwith Bow Instruments, it becomes so necessary,that if a Sopranowas to sing
D-sharp, like E-flat, a nice Ear will find he is out of Tune,
becausethis last rises.Whoeveris not satisfiedin this, let him
readthose Authorswho treatof it, and let him consult the best
Performerson the Violin.9
Among Quantz's many comments
explained that
on tuning, he
What led me to add another key not previouslyused on the

flute was the differencebetween major and minor semitones.
... The majorsemitonehas five commas,the minor only four.
For this reason, Eb must be a comma higher than D#.
From our perspective in the late 20othcentury, we are
introduced here to two rather startling concepts:
1 the existenceof majorand minor semitones(a D# different
from an Eb, for instance);
2 the possibility,therefore,that on some notes the harpsiEARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
357
wr:
Irer
jr
iIlk
The musical amateurs(1755). Oil painting by Julius Quinkhard(Amsterdam,Rijksmuseum)
356
EARLYMUSIC
AUGUST 1991

chord or organmightbe tuned differentlythan the other

membersof an instrumental
ensemble.
A system that differentiates between half-steps,
accordingto their harmonic function, suggests refinements unknown to our ears, which have grown accustomed to a mere 12 notes to the octave. But as far as
Quantzwas concernedin 1752,
of [thisdifferencebetweenflatsand sharps]is
Appreciation
neededby anyonewhowantsto developa refined,exactand
accurateearin music.
Modernplayersusuallyraisesharpsand lowerflatsto
enhancetheirmelodic function as leading,or 'tendency'
notes. This practicehas its roots at the beginningof the
Romanticperiod with the rise of equal temperament,"'
and is the reverseof the normal practice of 17th- and
18th-centurymusicians, for whom leading notes were
low. Our contemporarypreoccupationwith melody is
apparentlyrecent;a strongerharmonicorientationand
more 'vertical'awarenessnaturallytended to favourthe
pure major3rd (whichis much smallerthan the beating,
unresonantequal-temperedone).
The pure 3rd is an intervalthat is both naturaland
very satisfying to play, and, indeed, most modern
musiciansseem to gravitatetowardsit, especiallystring
playerstuning to their open strings. But pure 5ths are
even easierand yet more temptingto tune on a stringed
instrument.Since the end of the 18thcentury,therefore,
5thshave usuallywon out over 3rdsin stringintonation
(comparethe Pythagoreansystem,with its perfect 5ths
and high 3rds)." Rameau(1737),Quantz (1752,chap.17/
vii/4) and Sorge (1744,p.53) indicated that some violinists in their day were also inclined to pure 5ths (see
appendixfor thesetexts),but they consideredthis a mistake and associated it with poorer players." They
reasonedthat a violin tuned to perfect5thswould be out
of tune with the harpsichordor organ, but the deeper
implication was that it would also be unsuited to the
generalintonation system of the period. As John Hind
Chesnutwrote (p.271):
if ourgoal
Modernintonationpractice... is not appropriate
is to playMozart'smusicas he himselfwantedit played.The
or 'functional'intonationof
'expressive'
quasi-Pythagorean
is particuinstruments
19th-and20th-century
non-keyboard
larlyforeignto the traditionin whichMozartstood.
comma higherthan sharps.This saysnothing about the

naturals;it implies a generalsystem but does not indicate any specifictemperament.
Quantz wrote:
... the otherinstrumentsplay [the notes] in theircorrect
ratios,whereason theharpsichord
theyaremerelytempered.
'Merelytempered'is the key phrasehere. If we use both

D$ and Eb, G# and Ab, etc., we will need more than 12
notes in an octave. These different enharmonics are
availablefor the singeror violinist,who is able to adjust
intonation while performing, but keyboard players
(unlessthey haveinstrumentswith split keys) areforced
to resortto complicatedsystemsof temperament.
'Temperament'in this sense means 'compromise',an
expedientthat attemptsto makethe best of the fact that
It is
only one note can be playedwhen two are needed.13
an artificethat gives the illusion that a keyboardinstrument is as well in tune as the other instrumentswhen
playedby musicianswith the 'refined,exactand accurate
ear' of Quantz'stime.
For non-keyboard instruments, in fact, 'temperament' is not even possible. Without a fixed tuning,
intonation is influenced by technical situations, subjectiveperceptions,even differencesin dynamics.'4Players of such instruments are incapable (even if they
wanted it) of the level of consistency in intonation
implied by a temperament.'5
But although they are not bound by any closed
system, it would still be useful to see how original
descriptionsof theirtuning might be roughlyfittedinto
a keyboardsystem, since they normally perform with
harpischordsor organs. A keyboardtemperamentcan
also operate as a frame of reference or model, from
which singers and playersof instrumentswith flexible
intonation can occasionallydepartin the context of the
moment. Ideally,a 'synergetic'relationshipwill exist, in
which the keyboardis first temperedas closely as possible to the physical and musical needs of the other
instruments, who in their turn refer back to it for
guidance.
By definition,we can deducethat a tuning that distinguishesbetween enharmonicpairs,with sharpsbeing a
comma lower than flats, does not resembleeither equal
temperament or the Pythagorean system (in which
Tempering and 'intoning justly'
sharpsarehigherthan flats).If it is a systemat all,it must
closer to either just intonation or some form of
be
closed
with
a
here
We are not dealing
tuning system
based on a circle of 5ths like a keyboardtemperament. mean-tone.
Just intonation 'has alwayshad a kind of fatal fasSources discussing non-keyboard intonation usually
cination
for musiciansbecause of the purity within the
flats
were
a
that
the
general principle
only expressed
358
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
1991

basic scale of the tonic, subdominant, and dominant

that can be
chords, and of certain melodic intervals'16
to
Some
tuned
the
violin
tutors
early
open strings.
easily
indicate the use of a kind of just intonation, flexibly
applied in a limited way (see appendix Rameau (1726)
and Tartini(1754,pp.oo-lol).'7 But just intonation is a
kind of 'holy grail'that is impossibleto apply continuously,'8although ingenious attempts at it have been
made.'9As Barbourput it,20
wereprobablystillaccusThebulkof theviolinists[in c.1730]
tomedto the justthirdsandgreatlyflattenedfifthsof meantonetemperament.
The line between just and mean-tone need not, of
course,be strictlydrawnon instrumentswhose tuning is
not fixed."Some string playersbegin with open strings
tuned to somewhat narrow 5ths and tune intervals
purely to the open strings. Wind players,too, tend to
adjustlong notes purely.Of any consistent system, this
tuning most resembles'/4-comma'mean-tone ('meantone' in its strictestsense), in which 3rds are pure (as in
just intonation) and 5ths are smaller than pure by a
quarterof the syntonic comma.
But the difference between enharmonic pairs in
/4-commamean-tone is much greaterthan that speci-
musicians were so unconscious of alternativesto a

systemthat included majorand minor semitonesthat it
had no name at all.26
Among the more interesting descriptions of nonkeyboardtuning are those by Telemann and Quantz.
Sorge (1748,p.61) said that Telemann'stuning system
'cannotbe appliedto a keyboardinstrument,but it may
be rather convenient for the fiddle and certain wind
instruments,and is the easiest for singers'.Chesnut has
pointed out that Mozart also apparentlydistinguished
the small and large half steps of a mean-tone temperament similar to /6-comma.27
Major and minor semitones were discussed as late as 1813.28
In his 1707 MWthode(p.2o6), Sauveur classes instru-
ments accordingto theirabilityto altertheir intonation:

the voice and violin are in a class in which accurate
intonation depends entirely on the ear, while the keyboards are in one where no control is possible during
playing. The woodwinds fall in an intermediateclass,
and are among instruments
... onwhichthepitchis governed
toneholesor
byprojections,
butthatcanbe nevertheless
corrected
touchpieces,
bya sensitive ear.29
A numberof woodwind fingeringchartsfrom the end

of
the 17thto the end of the 18thcenturyconfirmthe use
fied by early sources (41 cents as opposed to 22).2 The
of
consistentuse of /4-commamean-tone is not, therefore,
higher pitches for flats and lower for synonymous
what they describe. Georg Muffat (1698) even warned sharps, although the exact difference is not specified.
violinists to resist the temptation to play leading notes Recorder charts are the most informative, since the
instrument'sinflexibleblowingtechniquerequiresaltertoo low (sic).
native fingeringsfor correctingintonation. Among the
Tosi said that 'a Tone ... is divided into nine ...
Intervals,which are called Comma's,five of which con- many fingering charts that appeared for the recorder
stitute the Semitone Major,and four the Minor.' (The from 1630 to 1795, the earliest often choose only one of
comma' referredto here is just under 22 cents wide.)23 the two enharmonicpairs.30By 1700completechromatic
An example of a major semitone would be C-Db, a charts began to appear that distinguished most pairs,
minor would be C-C#. Sincethe firstis five commas and especiallythe d'leb'. The most interestingchartswere
the second four, the difference between them is one those by Johann Christian Schickhardt (c.1720), which
comma.
distinguished gI"/ab",31and Thomas Stanesby Jr (c.1732),
that
An octave, as FrancescoGeminaniwrote in 1751,can
distinguishedeverychromaticnote.32
To
a lesser extent, traverso charts also offer useful
be divided'into 12Semitones,that is, 7 of the greaterand
5 of the lesser'.Since the seven 'greater'or major semi- information; Quantz's additional key indicates that
tones each contain five commas and the five 'lesser'have tuning correctionswere more limited on the traverso
four, the octave will consist of a total of 55 commas, or than on the double-reed instruments (to which such
parts. The 55-partoctave, as the sources quoted in the keys were never added).33
Although embouchureadjustmentsmake the oboe's
appendix show, was a familiarconcept in the 17thand
it correspondsto a temperamentknown intonation relativelyflexible,most oboe chartsindicate
18thcenturies.24
alternatefingeringsfor some sharpsand flats, from the
now as '/6-commamean-tone'.25
earliest existing chart (Bismantova,1688)34to at least
Written sources
1816 (Whitely).35The synonymous pairs that are given
The term 'mean-tone'was not used in the 18thcentury; the most alternatefingeringsare the 'left-hand' notes
in fact, like many commonly accepted assumptions, G4/Ab and A$/Bb (illus.l and 2). The development of
EARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
359
iae 7ofallT
on
eNotes
the.-o
.-- ..IO
both
-a
boV
"n
an-iharp
....
-7'
n
n7.
"n
*o..
7-O
C D
T G GAA
EF
a
c3
BC
r GAAB
DAE1
,s ?1
3B C
,L
ladaare
. irr line,
of hore Ahoa
Iere you mtn wz a Craoplacdron ZAe
Observe whore
n
tt hole khichitmrttrztop
crvour butane
Aand,
fyour
coverlt
?it,,r/, iAatyou,
w4thz
air
ifftle
tA h lJhand,burlethatanbed
atp)JSol-reand 0on all yenoter
9ote in the rcal
tu b markyi.dwfihangcr
Vr
ovei
y.ou
whkckkbemn
aomustnlref
s the re? alost "eacloref befreenyour Irs 'andblow
.etron'er then you did before andyz haherl
_
goeu still continue
1
~.??Lli
blow'ags.morwhar"traonqer
LI?I~?I
,goe
I~?
_ _
,_
_._.__.:_.
,-.,,a,??--
OboechartfromTheSecondBookof TheatreMusick(London:Walsh,1699).DurhamCathedral
courtesyof the
Library,
DeanandChapterof Durham.NotedistinctionsbetweenG# andAb.
2
undeinemstudiosomusices(Lobenstein,
zwischeneinemmusicotheoretico
3 Pages54-5fromGeorgAndreasSorge'sGespraich
1748)
SY STE.MA
TELEMANNICUM.
xF 1352.
C 2ooo. oo
bbD '97 S 30
MC 1901. 40
bD 1877.
91
D
1785. 50
bbE 1763. 45
XD 1697. 55
bE 1676. 59
E I593. 98
bF 1574. 30
"XE1515. 49
F 1496. 78
bbG 1478.
xF 1423.
bG 1405.
93
G 1336.. 23
bbA I319. 73
xG 1270. 4bA 1254. 73
A 1192. 9(
bbH x178.
18
15
xA 1z9I4
bH 1120. 15
bbC Iio6.
H to64.
31
96
"bC 0105 I.
xH o1012. 50
C OOO. oo00
30
0
o4
48
Xj
360
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
1991

double holes on the oboe and recorderhas an obvious

application for 'intoning' enharmonic pairs. On both
instruments they affect the most ambiguous pair,
G#-Ab.36
Bassoon fingering charts also distinguished enharmonic pairs.37Towardsthe end of the century,however,
keys began to be added whose purpose may have partially been to obscure these distinctions.38
Regularversusirregulartemperaments
As Telemannwroteof his tuningsystem(1743/4),'It establishes a continuousproportionalequalitybetweenintervals .. .' This implies something similar to a standard
'regular'mean-tone temperament,defined by Barbour
as one 'in which all the fifthssaveone arethe same size'.39
An interestingattributeof 'regular'mean-tones is the
ease with which standardtranspositionscan be made,
since intervalsare identicalin strategickeys. This would
explain how German composers like Bach and Telemann were able to function in mean-tone while using
Chor-Ton and Cammer-Tonsimultaneously.40'Transposing' instruments were a part of life for German
musiciansat this time. Partsfor transposinginstruments
were notated in differentkeys from the majorityof the
parts, because they were 'pitched' differently (being
tuned to Chor-ton/Cammer-Ton).
The 'd'amore'instruments and the violino piccolo also had transposedparts.41
It is obvious that, however notes are notated or fingered, they should be at the same frequencyfor all the
instrumentsof an ensemble. But the differencesin key
among transposing instruments were always either a
major2nd or a minor 3rd.Sincein a regularmean-tone,
parallel scales a major 2nd or minor 3rd apart would
normally be inflected identically,42their notes would
have corresponded closely.43Mean-tone tuning will
thereforework with transposinginstruments,as long as
the keyboardinstruments in such music are tuned in
regular(ratherthan irregular)temperaments.44
A model based on a regulartemperamentis relatively
Let us take /6-comma
simple and easy to remember.45
mean-tone as an example. Since most musicians nowadays use a Korg or similar tuning machine, the following table shows whereits notes areplacedin relation
to equal temperament.46
As flattenednotes become more distantfrom C, they
become gradually higher, whereas sharpened notes
become lower. The note Bb, for instance, is 9 cents
higher than in equal temperament,Eb 10 cents, Ab 12
cents etc. Going in the other direction,F$is 6 cents low,
C# 8 cents, G# 10 cents, D# 11cents etc.47
+5 cents
Db
D +1
D~ -11
Eb
E -2
F +7
F$ -6
Gb
G +3
G~ -10
Ab
A
0
A# -13
Bb
B -4
C +5
C# -8
+14
+10
+16
+12
+9
Although a regular temperament might have been

useful for the keyboardinstruments,it is unlikely that
other instrumentalistsand singersadheredstrictlyto it,
since the 3rds and 5ths would never have been completely pure. Irregularmean-tone systems,which favour
selectedkeysat the expenseof others,wereno doubt also
used together with non-keyboardinstruments.48There
are clear expressive advantages to these tunings, in
which modulations are more colourful.
But no system, regularor irregular,could possibly
have been appliedrigidlyon the flexiblypitched instruments. The regular55-partoctave was no more than a
convenienttheoreticalframework,and it can be used to
advantage by present-day musicians with either a
similarlytuned keyboardinsturmentor one tuned in an
irregulartemperamentsuch as the well-known 'Werckmeister III' or 'Temperamentordinaire'.
Reconciling the keyboard to the other instruments
Discussingintonation, HubertLeBlanc(p.55)commented that:
The divineartistryof Mr Blavetconsistsin adjusting[the
tuningof his]fluteby hismannerof blowing.Butstudentsof
the harpsichord
praisethe instrumentfor its intonation,not
perceivingthatit is in factnevertrulyin tune.
It is naturalto referto the keyboardinstrumentwhen
intonation questionsarisein an ensemble,since it is the
only instrumentwith a fixed pitch. But fixed pitch has
the defect of its virtue: when the music changes and
demands tuning modifications, the keyboard cannot
adapt as the other instruments can. It is a case of the
immovable object and the irresistibleforce. There is
little sense, for instance,in tuning the G$ of a flute to a
harpsichordwith an Ab.
A number of sources (among them Sauveur,Tosi,
Quantz,Telemann,Tartini,Sorgeand Mozart)accepted
EARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
361
the fact that keyboardsused differentsystemsof tuning within the frameworkof a regularmean-tone system.57
from other instruments.49There are suggestions as to The latter compromise (which is necessarily rather
how the problem was solved. Huygens,Rameau (1726) colourlessin character)might look on a Korgtuner like
and Sorge (1744, P-53;1758) all assumed that the melody this:
instrumentsshould conform to the keyboard.On the
other hand, Rameau (1737), Rousseau (1743) and de
Bdthizeyconsideredit self-evidentthat (exceptfor unison notes and finaltonics) singerspurposelyignoredthe

temperament of the accompanying instruments.
Quantz (1752, chap.17/vi/20o) proposed a more diplomatic solution in which the fixed-pitchinstrumentalso
adaptedto the other instruments.
In larger settings such as orchestras, a keyboard
instrumentis considerablyless audible than the treble
melody instruments.In the case of the harpsichord,the
sound dies away quickly,while pure intervalsare sustained by the other treble and bass instruments. De
B&thizey and Quantz (1752, chap.16/7) suggest that
+5 cents
C#
-8
D
D?/Eb
+1
0
-2
F
F#
G
+7
-6
+3
G#/Ab
+1
A
Bb
B
C
0
+9
-4
+5
singersand other playerswould thus do betterto adjust

to the violins and oboes rather than the harpsichord This scale is based on '/6-comma mean-tone; C#, F$ and
Bb plus all the diatonic notes are left in their normal
(compare also Tosi above).o5 The problem is more acute
for the otherbass instruments,since they usuallyplayin places (see previous table), and the differencebetween
unison with a harpsichord or organ.5 There are a the two ambiguousflat/sharpsis split.
number of possible solutions.
Some practical considerations
The idea of a harpsichordor organwith splitkeyswas
Quantzgavesome adviceon practisingintonation (1752,
mentioned by Tosi and Quantz;something similarwas
He advised (as did Leopold Mozart) the
chap.17/vii/8).
apparentlyused by Handel." With both D$/Eb and use of a monochord to
players of melodic instruments.8
G$/Ab, the keyboardwould have good major triads as The best manner of
escape from [poor intonation] is the
faras B and Ab major,makingit possibleto ventureinto
on which one can clearlylearnthe intervals.Every
monochord,
tonalities with as many as four sharps or flats and still
singerand instrumentalistshouldbecome familiarwith its use.
keep the thirds relativelypure.53For continuo playing, Theywould therebylearnto recognizeminor semitonesmuch
therefore,split keys clearlyhave a use.54
earlieras well as the factthatnotes markedwith a flatmust be a
Barbour (1951,p.191) suggests that, when key changes
were limited, it was a historic practiceto retune unsplit

keyboard accidentals during a programme. It takes
about as long to changea D# to an Eb on a harpsichord
as to tune a section of violins."
Another solution is to use two harpsichords,one
tuned (for instance) to sharps and the other to flats.
Alternatively,one two-manualharpsichordcan be used
in this way.56
Where frequent choices between enharmonics are
necessary (i.e. when a wide range of keys cannot be
avoided), another approach is suggested by several
sources. Quantz's 'good temperament which allows
either [synonymous flat/sharp] to be endurable' and
Telemann'senharmonicpairsthat are'blendedtogether'
on keyboardinstruments(1767)imply either the use of
an irregularmean-tone or the splittingof the difference
between the two or three trouble-makingaccidentals
362
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
comma higherthan those with a sharpin front of them. Without these insightsone is obliged to depend entirelyon the ear,
which can however deceive one at times. Knowledgeof the
monochord is requiredespeciallyof playersof the violin and
other stringed instruments, on which one cannot use the
placementof the fingersas an exact guide, as one can on wind
instruments.
In our time, we can add that we have all grown up in a
prevailing atmosphere of approximate equal temperament, making the help of a reference beyond our ears
even more necessary.Thereis a 'blackbox' on the market

that functions much like a monochord;it is designedto
play in any temperamentthe user wishes."9
A playerusing mean-tone as a model is theoretically
expectedto have alternateflats and sharpsavailablefor
every note, but in practice some accidentalsare rarely
used, since 18th-centurymusic usually stays within the
bounds of keys with four flats and sharps.One seldom
1991

has to play the notes E#, Fb, Gb, B#, Cb etc. There are,
then, three sets of enharmonicpairsthat are usually

ambiguousand need attention:Ab/G#, Eb/D#, and
Theothernotes(C,D, E,F,FM,G,A, Bb,B) are
Db/C#.6?
normallyalwaysin the sameplace.
The less adaptableto differenttonalitiesa temperamentneedsto be, the purerand richerit canbe. Just
intonation,the theoreticalideal,is practicalin onlyone
key;equaltemperamentworksin all of them. When
therefore,the choiceof
planningconcertprogrammes,
tonalitiesrelatesdirectlyto the choiceof keyboardtemperament,andviceversa.
Conclusion
It shouldbe clearby nowwhythe conceptof majorand
minor semitones is fundamentalto 18th-centurytuning
practice, why it can cause problems between the keyboard and the other instruments, and how it logically
leads to intonation models that resemblevarious temperaments known nowadays as 'mean-tone'.A closed
system is artificialwhen applied to strings, winds and
voices, but it can help players and singers understand
how to work with the 'immovable object',a keyboard
instrumentwith its fixed pitch, as well as provide them
with a frame of referencewith which to build a more
expressiveand 'harmonious'structureof intervals.61
Bruce Haynes has been playing, making, teachingand
writingabout the Baroqueoboesince the late 1960s.
'Asidefrom his articleson temperamentin New Grove,MarkLindley has written an excellent historical survey of temperament and
tuning in 'Stimmungund Temperatur',GeschichtederMusiktheorie,vi:
Messenund Rechnenin derFriahenNeuzeit (Berlin,1987).
Hi-ren,
2PatrizioBarbieri'sexcellentarticle 'Violin intonation: a historical
survey',EarlyMusic,xix/1(1991),pp.69-88, is a welcomeexception.The
present articlewill, I hope, complement it.
3Frettedstringedinstruments,whose intonation is a more specialized subject,arenot treatedin this study (see, however,LeBlanc(1740)
in the appendix).Cf. M. Lindley,Lutes,Violsand Temperaments
(Cambridge, 1984).
40Otheruseful sources are cited and discussedin Barbieri.
'See J. M. Barbour,Tuningand Temperament,a HistoricalSurvey
(EastLansing,Michigan,1951),pp.1, 89.
6Inclassic Y4-commamean-tone, 115ths are tuned one-quarterof a
syntonic comma smallerthan pure. This produces eight pure major
3rds.The placementof the twelfth5th,known as the 'wolf',determines
which tonalities are usable.
7R.Smith'Harmonics'(2nd ed. 1759),pp.166-7,quoted in A. J. Ellis,
'On the Historyof MusicalPitch'in A. J. Ellisand A. Mendel, Studiesin
the History of Musical Pitch (Amsterdam, 1968), p.55. Smith was a
respectedastronomer.See Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',
p.297.
8. .. a son usage ches les Jofieursd'Instrumensles moins habilesA
cause de sa simplicite& de sa facilit.' JosephSaveur,Mdthodegedndrale
(1707).The famous conversionof Rameauto a kind of equal temperament, recordedin his Gdndrationharmonique(1737)was an interesting exception. See Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',pp.244-47.
'The translationused here is by the oboist J. E. Galliard,who published an Englishversionof Tosi'sbook in 1743entitledObservationson
the FloridSong.Tosi'sbook was still currentenough in 1757that it was
translatedby J. E Agricolain Anleitungzur Singkunst.The words in
bracketsare mine.
"'SeeD. Boyden, TheHistoryof ViolinPlaying(Oxford,1965),pp.186,
370-71;Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',p.296. See also Cavallo
(1788)in appendix.
"T.Podnos, Intonationfor Strings,Winds,and Singers(Metuchen,
NJ, 1981),p.9; D. D. Boyden,'Prelleur,Geminiani,and JustIntonation',
JAMS,iv (1951),p.219; J. M. Barbour,'Violin Intonation in the 18th
Century: JAMS,v (1952), P.233; J. H. Chesnut, 'Mozart'sTeachingof
Intonation' JAMS,xxx (1977),pp.255,n.9, 256;and Barbier;pp.82-5.
"See also Werckmeister(1691) in appendix. Barbeiri (pp.70, 74)
noted other indications of both pure-5thtuning and tempered open
strings.
'3Cf.LeopoldMozart (1756)in appendix.
'4Aviolinist playson an open stringabout 5 cents higherwhen playing forte than when playingpiano. (This is the conclusion reachedby
the authorand a Baroqueviolinist, in experimentsusing an electronic
tuner.)
'5This inconsistencyis the hobgoblinof a theoreticianof 'littlemind'
like Sorge (cf. Sorge (1744),P-53in appendix).
'6Boyden,'Prelleur,Geminianiand JustIntonation',p.202
'7SeeBoyden,'Prelleur,Geminianiand JustIntonation',and Robert
Bremner'sPrefaceto J. G. C. Schetky'sSix Quartettos,op.6, quoted in
full in N. Zaslaw,'The Compleat OrchestralMusician' EM (1979),
pp.46-57. Bremner (a student of Geminiani) gives violin intonation
exercises based on pure intervals.See also M. Lindley,'Der TartiniSchtilerMichele Stratico'KongressberichtBayreuth,GioseffoZarlino,
1588, Sopplimentimusicali (Venice, 1981), chaps.33-7, and Lindley,
'Stimmungund Temperatur',
p.293.LeBlanc(1740),p.133ff.mayalsobe
discussingjust intonation, to judge from his comments on the difficulty of modulations:'harpischordsare tuned with both major and
minor semitones, which are neverthelessnot exempt from problems
when thereis a changeof key.Thispracticehas been renounceddespite
its occasionalbenefits.'
'8Thisis a well-knownproblemin choralpractice,whereintonation
tends to be quite pure, leadingthe final tonic to a point remote from
where it began. Sauveuralso discusses this problem in his Mcthode
(1707),pp.20o6-7. A more complete discussion of the ramificationsof
playingin just intonation on a violin is presentedin C. Moran,'Temperament and Violin Intonation in Baroque Music' (unpublished
paper,Universityof Montreal,1986).
'9SeeBarbeiri,pp.69-72.
20Barbour,'ViolinIntonation',p.234.Barbour'sarticlewaswrittenin
responseto Boyden's,and gives severalconvincing argumentsfor this
statement (pp.232-4).
"'Manymusical theorists also drew this line vaguely.See Lindley,
'Stimmung und Temperatur',p.293.As Barbieriput it (p.72), 'meantone can be considereda temperedjust intonation ..
22SeeBoyden, 'Prelleur,Geminianiand Just Intonation',p.215.
23This is very close to the 'syntonic comma',which is 21.5062896
cents, and is incidentallythe differencebetween the over-largemajor
3rd in Pythagoreantuning and a pure 3rd. See Lindley,New Grove,iv,
p.591and Sorge (1758)in the appendix.
24SeeSauveur(1707)and Fontenelle(1711).Lindley,'Stimmungund
Temperatur,p.191registersan inexactdiscussionof the 55-partoctave
by Fernandez as early as 1626; see also p.211 on N. Mercator (1672).
mean-tone is producedby tuning 11of the 125ths on a

"2%-comma
keyboardsmallerthan pure by A of a comma (whence the name). In
this temperament,a majorsemitone = lo9.o9 cents and a minor semitone = 87.273 (see Lindley, New Grove, ix, p.278).
The difference
between them is therefore21.817cents, or about as close to a syntonic

comma as it is possibleto achievein a keyboardtuning system.Wecan
deduce then, that if a consistent systemis implied in the use of major
EARLY MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
363
and minor semitones,?'-commamean-toneis the temperamentthat it

most resembles.
26Some writers,beginning in the early17thcentury,conceived it in
terms of the 55-partoctave.
27SeeW. A. Mozart(1785-7)in appendix.In Popolidi Tessagli,K316,
bar42, the voice has a Bb and an A: in the samebar;both the oboe and
violin have At, though the piece is in C minor. The distinction
between the two notes was obviously significantto Mozart.
28See Busby (1813)in appendix. Sources that describe /6-comma
mean-tone, but which are not included in the appendix, include:
JohannMattheson,Der vollkommeneCapellmeister(Hamburg,1739),
p.55;JohannAdolf Scheibe, Eine Abhandlungvon den musicalischen
Intervallenund Geschlechtern
(Hamburg,1739);Daniel Gottlob Tiirk,
KurzeAnweisungzum General-bassspielen
(Leipzigand Halle, 1791).
29This is reminiscentof Freillon-Poncein(1700) in the appendix.
30SeeE. Eijken,'Eenonderzoeknaargetempereerdspel op houtblasinstrumentenin de 17een 18eeeuw, in het bijzonderop de blokfluit'
['Aninvestigationof temperedintonation on woodwinds of the 17th
and 18thcenturies,particularlyon the recorder'](unpublishedterm
paper,RoyalConservatory,The Hague, 1982), p.19.
ChristianSchickhart,Principesde la flate (Amsterdam,c.
31Johann
1720). Schickhardtalso published 'L'Alphabetde la musique',a collection of sonatas for violin, traversoor recorderin 24 keys (1735).
32Thomas StanesbyJr,A New Systemof the Flutea Bec or Common
EnglishFlute (London, c.1732).
33Barbieri
(p.82) notes, however,that CharlesDelusse in L'Artde la
Flute traversiere(c.1761)was apparentlygiving fingerings that produced sharpshigherthan flats(he cites PierreSechet).At the time, this
was exceptional.
34Bartolomeo Bismantova,'Regole ... del Oboe' [Ms version of
Compendiomusicale](Ferrara,1688).See E. Tarr,Tibia,2/87 (1987).
35SeeB. Haynes, 'Oboe Fingering Charts, 1695-1816'GSJ (1978),
pp.68-93.
36Both Quantz and Sorge indicated that woodwind playerstuned
their scales from the tonic note of the key in which they were playing
ratherthan from an absolutepitch as given by a keyboardinstrument.
See Sorge (1758), p.9, par.14;Quantz (1752), chap.16/4.Fred Morgan
recentlymade a beautifulrecorderfor me with a doubled third hole,
making it possible to distinguishdb"'more accuratelyfrom c"'.
37SeeP.J.White, 'EarlyBassoon FingeringCharts',GSJ(1990), p.98.
38SeeWhite, 'EarlyBassoon FingeringCharts',p.96 on Ozi (1787).
39Barbour,
p.xi. ManykeyboardtemperaTuningand Temperament,
ments use more complexsystems.In a regularmean-tone,any six keys
relatedto each otherby 5ths (Bb F C G D A, for instance),will contain
appropriatelytuned accidentalsand identicalscale intervals.In order
to use other keys, accidentalshave to be retuned. Chesnut believed
Quantz was describing an irregular system for his harpsichord
('Mozart's Teaching of Intonation', p.26o, citing Quantz (1752),
chap.17/vi/2o),but in fact the discrepancyto which Quantz referred
was between the harpsichordand other bass instruments.Thus it is
quite possiblethat the 'bonne Temperature'that Quantzsuggestedfor
the harpsichord(chap.17/vii/9)was a regularone.
40See B. Haynes, 'Questions of Tonality in Bach's Cantatas:the
Woodwind Perspective'Journalof the AmericanMusicalInstrument
Society(1986),pp.40-67.
41'Instrumentsbuilt in consortsarenormallytuned at the more compatibleintervalsof a 4th or 5th. Since in mean-tone conjunct5ths are
tuned similarly,a consort of instruments tuned in 5ths (F-C-F-C,
G-D-G-D or even G-D-A) would be well in tune even when instruments were separatelytuned startingon differentnotes. The 'd'amore'
instruments,on the otherhand (such as the voice-flute,oboe d'amore,
flute d'amore and usually viola d'amore), are pitched a minor 3rd
below their more standardcounterparts.Lookedat without consideration for how these instrumentswere used, certainnotes that are low
(from the individualplayer'spoint of view) might need to be high in
the context of the rest of the group. FingeredF$(IV$)on a flute or
364
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
oboe d'amore,for instance (normallya low note), could as easilybe a

sounding Eb as a D$;fingeredA$ (V#) on a voice-flute (also verylow,
especiallyin the second octave,and a C: on the normalF-treble)could
be sounding Bb. Should these instrumentsbe tuned differentlyfrom
standardones?Therearenumerousexamplesindicatingthat 'd'amore'
instrumentswereoften used principallyfortheirabilityto playin sharp
keys.The basic key (i.e. six-fingerednote) of an oboe d'amoreor flute
d'amore is sounding B major;that of a voice-flute is E. See Haynes,
(1986),p.54. If such instrumentswere normallyassociatedwith sharp
keys,it is unlikelythatthey would often haveplayeda soundingEb;the
note would havenormallybeen a D$ and thus the fingeredF$ (likethe
D$, inflectedlow) would have workedperfectlywell.
42Using '6-commamean-tone in a rangeof six normal keys for the
Cammer-Toninstruments(Eb Bb F C G D for instance), an organ at
Chor-Tona major2nd higherwould havebeen tuned with all the accidentals as flats to produce identicalparallelintervalsfor the keys Db
Ab Eb Bb F C. If Chor-Tonwas a minor 3rdhigherthan Cammer-Ton,
the same parallelintervalswould have been obtained by tuning the
organto the keys C G D A E B, producedby tuning all the accidentals
as sharps.
43Therewould havebeen a slightdifferencein pitch. Forthe interval
of a major 2nd, the differencewould have been 4 cents (At a'-=410,4
cents is about 1 Hz, which is negligible).The intervalof a minor 3rd
producesa pitch differenceof about 5.5 cents, or about 1.5 Hz.
44AlthoughNeidhart(1732)and Sorge (1744,p.24) seem to be speculatingon the use of irregulartemperamentsin these situations,Sorge
(1748)stronglyadvocateswhat he calls a 'gleichschwebendeTemperatur',in which 11,not 12,5ths are equal (pp.14,34). A modern instance
of 'transposition'is the use of portativeorgansdesignedto play alternately at d =440 and d =415 with movable keyboards.A semitone
difference is much less practical in a regular mean-tone, such as
A-comma, since an organ tuned to play the keys Eb Bb F C G D at
a'=440 would only be capableof playingthe keys E B F# C# G# D# in
tune at d
a'=415,
a'=415.If the keys Eb Bb F C G D were availableat d
switchingto d =44o would produce D A E B F# D#.
45The3rd and the 7th, for instance, are always7 and 9 cents below
their placementin equal temperament.
46Scales in the 18thcenturywere traditionallytuned from C, not A
(see Asselin, p.34, Chesnut, 'Mozart'sTeachingof Intonation',p.268,
and Boyden,Historyof ViolinPlaying,p.204). For stringplayers,however,it is easierto tune to an open string.The tablethereforegivesA as
0.
47Notethat synonymous sharps/flatsare always approximatelya
syntonic comma apart(i.e. between 21and 22 cents--the actualfigure
containsdecimalpoints that havebeen roundedoff on one side or the
other).
48On this subject, see Heinichen (1728) and Rameau (1737) in
appendix.
49'Weshouldbe less surprisedby [sucha situation]when we remember that from the nineteenthcenturyto the presentday,keyboardand
been tuned accordnon-keyboardinstrumentshave characteristically
ing to differentsystemsof intonation,the keyboardinstrumentsbeing
in equal temperamentand the non-keyboardinstrumentsusually in
some form of quasi-Pythagoreantuning' Chesnut,'Mozart'sTeaching
of Intonation',p.257.
50Organsare more audiblebecausetheir notes do not decayquickly.
51Onthisquestionsee Quantz(1752), chap.17/vi/20.
keysthat weresplitwere and
5'See Ellis([1750]) in appendix.TheDI
G$. Since it is in the regulartemperamentsthat a choice is necessary
between enharmonicequivalents,the use of split keys implies also the
use of a regulartemperament.
"3Thepracticallimits would be E to Eb in majorkeys and E to F in
minor keys.
54Somehistoryof the use of splitkeyscan be found in Lindley,'Stimp.186;F.Hubbard,ThreeCenturiesofHarpsimung und Temperatur',
chordMaking(Cambridge,Mass,1965),pp.35-6,168;and Klop,p.12.As
1991

MusSonderband
derReihe'Basler
Jahrbuch
Reflexion,
fiirHistorische
(1983), PP.346-52.
ikpraxis',
tuneris available
fromWidenerEngineering,
203Westbrook
"9The
thana Korg,I
Drive,AustinTX 78746,USA.(Model
1no-cheaper
believe-is recommended.)
instrument,
6oOn a woodwind
pairsneedto be
onytwoenharmonic
tunedso theplayerhasa choice:D?/EbandG$/Ab.All
ambiguously
fourof thesenotesareregularly
demandedwhenplayingin standard
to C$is usuallydesirBaroquekeys.(Dbis rarer,so tuningdecisively
withembouchure
oralternate
able.)Ona flute,G$/Abcanbeadjusted
but the fingering123-456-7(D?/Eb)givea verydecisive
fingerings,
little
pitchbecausemostof thetoneholesareclosed,thereis relatively
leewayfor adjustingbreathpressure,and thereis no alternatefingering.Hencethe necessityof the addedkey.
at
61G.C.Klopobserved
(ina lectureon harpsichord
temperaments
in 18th-century
treaBrugesin 1975)thattuningwasusuallydiscussed
sinceit wasregardedas an
tisesunderthe headingof composition,
device.
expressive
mightbe expected,the two notesthatseemto havebeencommonly

splitwereD$ andG$.
p.191.Butcf. LeBlanc(1740),
TuningandTemperament,
"5Barbour,
one cannotcorrect[tuning]duringa
whosaid([Ona harpsichord,]
or organ,whicharetunedfora
concert... (p.55)and'harpsichord
concertonceandforall (andsometimesfora halfyear)'(p.133).
be identical,
56Inthissituation,ten of the 12noteswouldnormally
andonlyD?/EbandG$/Abwouldbe different.Sympathetic
vibrationson theinstrument
wouldnot,therefore,
affected.
besignificantly
thesameideabydividingthewolfoverthelast
suggested
57Rousseau
three5ths(therebystrikinga meanbetweenDM/Eb
andG$/Ab)in the
ouDictionnaire
raisonne
dessciences,
arset mitiers,ed.D.
Encyclopddie,
DiderotandJ.LeRondd'Alembert
also
(1756).Barca's
temperament
allowsforirregular
of chromatic
notesandmighttherefore
placement
be similarto thisone.
oboistMichelPiguetof Basle,whohasuseda systemsimilarto
58The
mean-tone(withRousseau's
formanyyears,
modification)
'6-comma
haswrittena usefulcommentary
on teachinghistoricalintonationin
im Unterricht',
zurIntonationslehre
AlteMusik;Praxisund
'Beispiele
4 Michel Corrette,'Gammedu hautbois' p.51in Mithode raisonnuepour apprendreaisement ljouer de la Flitte Traversiere
... Nouvelle edition... augmente&de la Gammedu Haut-bois... [?1776].Paris,BibliothequeNationale (res.337).Corrette
shows f#'s '" 1'Italienne'and '" la
franqoise'
,-t
It
ui j
&AiD
?vi
..F
t''
"
90TAt
0??
..
... . 6 .A?k. m
a_
. ...:'.....
g0
],
A.
Aft?A
?
,o
19k
AOL
.,,,
: ..
r,,
-
"J
hIP
.,Sq . ,.i;
,I
&
" "
LIla.
?
_-'p.
1-i
. .
? .
0,
" - 4"
-"
It- C-
I-i -
F-
L
_ ._
V 0 0,/~tsu
0
A
rI
??
nr~
h +c VW
AV,
AO?
.0
r?0-0.?
T
AI
T-?
4
md&rwn~fre-ennu-.Ao4w
eo
ou
k?
7
udni/
Y-
A AL A ALAm__
.8h,IL
??
JL
IZtdoW
ja3....78
vene'
eue?qk
wx
u&v
mvry
e0Yaao
heij
EARLY MUSIC

rm-r
mw
AUGUST
1991
365
APPENDIX:SOURCES
Christiaan Huygens, Oeuvres completes (The Hague, 1888-1950), xx, PP.73-4
Mais la voix ajustetout cela, au moins quand on chante sans But a singer adjusts all [these varieties of temperament], at
etre accompagn6de quelqu'unde ces instrumensa tons fixes. least when singing without the accompanimentof an instrument with fixed pitch.
[?169os; manuscript].
1691
Andreas Werckmeister, Musicalische Temperatur (Frankfurt-on-Main and Leipzig), p.3
Wenn alle Quinten rein gestimmt wuirden/wolteschon eine

unreine Folge der Consonantieentstehen.'
1698
Georg Muffat, Florilegium secundum (Passau), 'Premieres Observations: I. Contactus. Du Toucher Juste'
J'ay remarqu6que les defauts de ceux qui Jouent faux proviennentla plus part,de ce que des deux touches qui ensembles
composent le semiton (parexamplele mi, & le fa;a & b; & c;
ou #f & g; $c & d;#g & a & c.) Jamaisil ne prennentle mi, ou la
diese $ assez haut; ny le fa ou le b mol assez bas.
1700
If the 5ths are tuned purely [on a violin], the result will be
impure intonation.
I have noticed that the most common mistake of those who

play out of tune involves the two notes that make up a semitone (as for exampleE-F,A-Bb, B-C, F$-G, C$-D, G#-A etc).
The E, or the sharpenednote ($) is not playedhigh enough,
nor the F, or the flattenednote, low enough.
Jean-Pierre Freillon-Poncein, La VWritableManicre d'apprendre ajouer en perfection du haut-bois, de la

flate et du flageolet(Paris),p.9
Je ne parle point icy de la differencequ'il y a des demy tons

majeurs ou mineurs, parce que aux Instrumens oi l'oreille
conduit les sons, on peut les faire tous 6gaux;ainsi la transposition sur toute sorte de demy ton se peut executer avec
autant de justesse que sur le naturel.
I will not speakhere of the differencethat existsbetweenmajor

and minor semitones, since on instrumentsthat control their
tuning by ear,they can all be played alike [i.e. with the same
fingerings].Thus, a scale transposedto any semitone can be
played as well in tune as one without flats or sharps.
1707 JosephSauveur,Mcthodegnedralepourformerles systcmestemperesde musique,et du choixde celui qu'on

doit suivre: Histoire de l'Acadeimieroyale des sciences, p.215; reproduced in facsimile in R. Rasch, Joseph
Sauveur: Collected Writings on Musical Acoustics (Paris 1700-13) (Utrecht, 1984)
Le systemetempere de 55 comma . .. est celui dont les Musiciens ordinairesse servent ..
1711
Bernardle Bovier,sieur de Fontenelle, Sur les sistcmes

temperdsde musique:Histoirede l'Academieroyale
des sciences,p.80; reproducedin facsimilein R. Rasch,JosephSauveur:CollectedWritingson Musical
Acoustics(Paris1700-13)(Utrecht,1984)
On a vi^dans l'Hist. de 1709que M. Sauveurqui a propose un

systemetemperede Musique,parlequelil divisel'Octaveen 43
partiesegales, croyoit n'avoirque deux autres systemes raisonnablesa combattre,l'un de M. Huguensqui divise l'Octave
en 31,& l'autredu gros des Musiciensqui la divisent en 55.
1723
The55-partoctave... is theoneusedbymusiciansin general

fromkeyboardmusiciansin particular]
[asdistinguished
...
In the 1709issue of the Histoirewe saw that M. Sauveurproposed a temperedmusicalsystemthat dividesthe octave in 43
equal parts, and that only two other systems offered any
reasonablecompetition: one by M. Huguens [Huygens]that
divides the octave in 31,and the other used by the majorityof
musicians,that divides it into 55 ...
Pier Franceso Tosi, Opinioni de' cantori antichi e moderni,

chap.x, par.15
[See quotation in articleabove.]

EARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
367
Jean-PhilippeRameau,Nouveausystcmede musiquethdorique(Paris)
1726
p.111:
[Singers need not follow the above tuning system] excepte

au Temqu'ellesne soient accompagneespar des Instruments,
"
parment [sic]desquelselles se conforment,tant l'aidede leur
flexibilitequ'a l'aide de la sensibilitede l'oreille."
[Singersneed not followthe abovetuning system]exceptwhen

they are accompaniedby instruments,to whose temperament
they conform by virtueof theirflexibilityand the sensitivityof
their ear.
p.110o:
Les habilles Musiciens scavent profiter " propos de ces differenseffetsdes Intervales,& font valoirpar l'expressionqu'ils
en tirent, l'alterationqu'on pourroit y condamner.3
Good musiciansknow how to use the differenteffects of the

intervals,and prove their value by the expressionand variety
they are able to drawfrom them.
Johann David Heinichen, Der General-Bass in der Composition (Dresden), pp.83-5

... bey heutigen guten Temperaturen,(von alten Orgel ... in today'sgood temperaments(I am not referringto old
=Werckenredenwir nicht) die mit ? und b. doppelt und 3fach organs)the keyswith two or threeflatsor sharpsin theirsignabezeichnetenTone, vornehmlich im TheatralischenStylo als tures emerge, especially in the theatricalstyle, as the most
die schOnsten,und expressivestenvorkommen, daher ich zu beautifuland expressive.Forthis reasonI would not even supErfindungeines indeschmasktenpur-diatonischenClavieres port the inventionof the long-soughtclavierin just intonation
nicht einmahlrathenwolte wenn es Practibelware:allein dass were it to become practicable.But that the affectof Love,Melman specialiterdiesem oder jenem Tone den Affectder Liebe, ancholy,Joy,etc, belongs to specifickeys, I cannot accept.
der Traurigkeit,der Freude,&c.zu eignen will, das gehet nicht
gut.
1728
Peter Prelleur, The Modern Musick-Master (London), section on the violin, p.4
1730
Note also that as G-sharp& A-flat,or A-sharp& B-flat,or also stop them with the same Finger. [See illus.5. Note that flat
D-sharp & E-flat, etc, are not the same Notes you must not notes are higher than the correspondingsharpnotes.]
5 Fingeringchart from Peter Prelleur,The ModernMusick-Maker,Part V, 'Artof Playing on the Violin' (London, 1731)
L.
k
wzrUzo
.v.y
no
Out
dv A w
e44eI ;~
'/
w An. M44 ?Zxwyrk,1e,,A
,,ctld 01,/11?*
kid
mane
a,
,,,a a/,a
n.e.a.
;fRVw/*44ard
4mM/ A~ ' Ve,.4*vy
/0
4 Z)Z4mzw
4'a
Irv.f
ArZ.,.
Ao t/2* /7e0,4
7L
wv7.?
?;-Pzt
.a.
A',J
...r.
yez,
!i
'
,,,/, 'ea.yoJ,,4
7XI
or Jr~o
4/A
7Ae
jl
y3d
24Ss
71Xe
1VoAY
N
wa d Ae
4??e
A4www Awt
d
,(wA&
tar/,a fA Ay84
ltA'f f,
am,
,ZVt*4wr&
XOMW d 9d*'*M7
Mr&
-6
? v
Aie
d
4me
'?5hrom.a&tA.,I
/q
,~Ao*
4WO~k
"wI -7~'
/A~94Af
aoid.
temperirtenY
schenpa/
7A~4hvr
2134
172
Jhnn
aor
.z/~?e
4.a
wa.'O
7?uu a/ I-,
*r Th f.-v/,,
. ,
'
Y"
a'I.?&,Any
z?Aw'y
ymm'
t/24WDiv a,A ...,v

y,a -eouJN
T"hr~fC
u4
edo
Monohor
/?~4~,~i~
~igserg
edhrt
eog Gitzicr12v#hY;WWe!vte
At~
datniah
/1,nger;&
lil?,atischze Abthei
mathemvv?
Abtheilungendes diatonischJohann Georg Neidhart, Giintzlich erschbpftemathematische

chromatischentemperirtenCanonisMonochordi(Kdnigsberg)
Warendenn die Hautbois, Floten, u.d.g.... nach derselben If oboes, flutes and the like ... were all tuned to [equaltemeingerichtet,so muistenothwendig Chor- und Cammer-Ton perament], Chor- and Cammer-Tonwould naturallyblend
durch und durch auf das reinste zusammen stimmen ...
togetherthroughout in the purest way...
1732; 2/1734
368
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
1991

1737
Jean-Philippe Rameau, Gendration harmonique (Paris)., ed. and trans. D. Hayes (diss., Stanford U., 1974)
pp.87-9:
[When a singer is accompanied by a harpsichord,]dont le
Temperammentest le plus faux,4[the singer'sear is] toujours
preoccupdedu Son principal du Mode ... apris avoir parcouru plusieurs [successions]qui ne sont pas certainementa
l'Unisson de ceux du Clavecin,elle se reunit avec lui dans ce
Son principal,ou dans son Harmonie.5
on which
[Whena singeris accompanied
by a harpsichord,]
the temperament
is the mostout of tune, [thesinger'searis]
continuallypreoccupiedwith the tonic of the key . . after
whicharesurelynot
havingpassedthroughseveral[intervals]
in unisonwiththoseof the harpsichord,
thevoicerejoinsthe
on the tonicnoteor chord.
harpsichord
p.92:
L'Oreillene suit pas servilementle Temp rammentdes Instrumens ... [Ils] serventseulementa la mettre sur les voies des
Sons fondamentaux. .... elle tempere, sans reflexion . . tout
ce qui peut s'opposer aux justes rapports de ses Sons
fondamentaux.
The eardoesnot slavishlyfollowinstrumental

temperament
... [Instruments]
onlyserveto orientatethevoiceon theprincipalnotes. . singerscorrect,withoutthinkingtwice. .. anythingthat mightobscurepureintonationin relationto the
principalnotes.
p.91:
... les habiles Maitres [of the violin] ... diminuent un tant
soit peu les Quintes, comme me l'a assureM. Guignon Ordinaire de la Musiquede Sa MajestY,pour y adoucirla duretede
la Sixte ... [entre] les deux cordes extremes.
musicians,narrowthe 5thsslightly,in orderto sweetenthe

6th ... [between]thebottomandtop strings.
overlarge
p.104:
Celui qui croit que les diff6rentesimpressionsqu'il regoit des
differences qu'occasionne le Temperammenten usage dans
chaqueMode transpose,lui dleventle genie, &le portentaplus
de variete,me permettrade lui dire qu'il se trompe;le goit de
varidtese prend dans l'entrelacementdes Modes, & nullement
dans l'alt ration des intervales, qui ne peut que diplaire a
l'Oreille,& la distrairepar consequent de ses fonctions.6
To those who believethat the differentimpressionsthey

receivearecausedby the differencein temperament
in each
transposedkey,givingeach a specialcharacterand thereby
providingmorevariety,permitme to tell themthattheyare
mistaken;
varietyhasitsoriginin theblendingof keysandnot
in the modification
of intervals,
whichcanonlydispleasethe
it fromits [proper]work.
ear,thusdistracting
1740
... thebestmasters[ontheviolin]... as I havebeentoldby

[Jean-Pierre] Guignon [1707-74], one of his Majesty's
Hubert LeBlanc,Defensede la bassede viole (Amsterdam)
p.54:
De tant de Tierces que . . . qualifie etre si aimables,vous [le
Clavecin] & l'Orgue en avez les trois quarts de fausses. Une
Oreille fine ne sauroit chez vous entendre le joueur (pour
rendre justice a deux qu'il y a d'habiles), qu'en s'imposant
silencesurle defautde justessedansl'Instrument,&au rapport
que fait l'oreille de tant d'accordsqui impatiententl'Auditeur
ddlicat,plut6t que de le flatter.
P-55:
[On a harpsichord,]on n'a pas la faculte d'y retoucher [l'accorde] dans un Concert,au-lieu que sur les instrumensaChevilles mobiles, on ajuste l'accord sur chaque Ton, oi l'on va
jouer, & non sur la selle Atous chevaux d'un Ami l'a donne.
L'Artdivin de M. Blavet7est de reparersur la Flute, par le
moyen de l'haleine modifiee. Ainsi les Ecolie'resde Clavecin,
lorqu'elless'applaudissentqu'il est toujours d'accord,ne sentent pas qu'il n'y est jamais.
Of the many 3rdsthat . .. areconsideredso reasonable,threequartersof yours [the harpsichord's]and the organ'sare false.
A nice earwould only be able to listen to someone playyou (to
be fair to two who are capable)by ignoring the defect of the
instrument'sintonation and the discord that is heard in so
many harmonies, that vex the fastidious listener ratherthan
gratifyinghim.
[On a harpsichord]one cannot correct [tuning] duringa concert, while on instruments with tuning pegs, the tuning is
adjustedfor each key in which one plays,and not in a 'one size
fits all' manner.
The divine artistryof Mr Blavet consists in adjusting [the
tuning of his] flute by his manner of blowing. But students of
the harpsichordpraise the instrumentfor its intonation, not
perceivingthat it is in fact never truly in tune.
EARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
369
p.133:
Un Seigneurqui fait la Viole a temoigne qu'ayantdes Touches,

elle est infirieureau Violoncel,qui n'en a point:elle est sujette,
dit-il, a ce que les demi-Tons Majeurs & Mineurs soient
employes indiff~remment,& les uns pour les autres.
Pour satisfaire~ cette Objection des plus considerables,il
fautremarquerque de la partde la Viole, avoirdes Touchesest
different d'etre partageen demi-Tons fixes, a la manidredu
Clavecin & de l'Orgue:on ne les accorde qu'une fois pour
toutes, pour un Concert,& quelquefoispour une demi-annie.
Mais sur la Viole la Chevillemobile point trop multipliee,
comme sur le Luth,aneantitle defautd'avoirdes Touches,car
elle le repareen accordanta chaqueTonsurlequel on va jouer.
Si l'on regardel'Objectioncomme non resolue, parce qu'apresle choix du Ton dans lequel on entre, lorsqu'on passera
du b quarreau b mol, la difficult4reste entibreAl'egard des
demi-TonsMajeursremplacespar les Mineurs.
Jereponsque celaprouveque la faussetevient d'ailleursque
des demi-tons Majeurs& Mineurs,ils sont un objet trop peu
consid rable.
Lapreuvede leur peu d'influenceest, qu'il y a des Clavecins
oh se trouventles demi-Tonsdes deux esp&ces,lesquelsneanmoins ne sont pas exemts des juremensdans les changemens
de Tons A d'autres.On s'est desiste de cette pratiquecomme
d'un leger avantage.
L'Objectiondu demi-Ton tire tout son degre de consideration du cas oh il devientle Ton capitaldans lequel on joue
alors sur l'Orgue & le Clavecin,il est un jurement perpdtuel.
Maisla Bassede Viole est tiree de pairparle changementdans
son accord facilea mouvoir.On commence a accorderpar ut
sur le Son due demi-Tondonne.
Au contraire dans le Discours Musical,le peu d'attention
que s'attirentles demi-Tons,se prouvede ce qu'ilsne tiennent
lieu que de particulesde liaison conjonctives,ou de transition,
telles que car, neanmoins,&c. Sur lesquellesl'esprit n'appuie
pas, comme dans la chute sur un Ton, lorsque le sens finit.
I1faut donc tirer d'ailleursla raison de d&cider.
Ce sera des Tons Majeurs & Mineurs transposes de leur
ordre naturel dans l'Octave.Car les cinq Tons entiers qui en
formentplus des deux tiers, ne gardentpas une distanceegale
de l'un Al'autre;&,lorsqu'onchangede Ton,il se faitun bouleversement general, les Tons les plus espacdsviennent atre
remplacesparde plus foibles,ceux qui ont une moyenneespace
sont releves de sentinelle par d'autres qui en ont une plus
grandeou une moindre Agarder,il s'enfuitdes juremensex&crablessur les Instrumens,qui n'ont pas le secours des Chevilles mobles, ou qui manquent pour les mod~rer d'une
haleineaussijudicieusementemployeeque celle de Mr Blavet.
Ainsi chaque fois qu'on change de Ton, le diplacement des
partiesmet tout sans-dessusdessous dans la primibreOctave,
& les autresqui en font la rdpitition.
370
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
A gentlemanwho playsthe gambaa little remarkedthat as the

instrumenthas frets,it is inferiorto the cello, which has none:
this causesit, he says,to be unableto distinguishor governthe
choice of major and minor semitones.
To answerthis seriousimputation,it should be pointed out
that on the gamba the existence of frets is hardlythe same as
being split up into fixed semitones, as on a harpsichordor
organ, which are tuned for a concert once and for all (and
sometimes for a half-year).
Forthe gamba'stuning pegs, not being overlycomplexas on
the lute, overcome the defect of frettingby being tuneable in
whateverkey one plays.
But it may be objectedthat the problem is still unresolved,
since even after choosing the key in which one is to play, the
mode may change from major to minor, requiring minor
semitones ratherthan major.
My answeris thatthis provesthatbad intonationderivesnot
from the majorand minor semitones, since they are of themselves of little consequence.
The proof of their nominal influencecan be seen in the fact
that harpsichordsare tuned with both majorand minor semitones, which areneverthelessnot exemptfrom problemswhen
there is a change of key. This practice has been renounced
despite its occasionalbenefits.
The problem in using semitones derives from the cases in
which it becomes the tonic note in which one plays,and in the
case of the organ and harpischordit is a perpetualcurse. The
bassviol, however,escapesthis difficultybecauseit can change
its tuning easily.It tunes a scale from any given tonic, regardless of which semitone it may be.
During the act of playing music, on the other hand, the
slightattentionthat is accordedthe differentsemitonesproves
that they merelyservethe purposeof conjunctiveor transitive
particles,such as 'for','nevertheless'etc. They hold the attention no more thanthe last fallof a note when a phrasecomes to
its end.
The cause must arise elsewhere.
It is the juxtapositionof the naturalorderof the majorand
minor semitones within the octave. For the five whole tones
that comprise more than two-thirds of the octave are not
placed at equal distancesfrom each other, and, when the key
changes,this producesa generalconfusion, as the largerintervals are replacedby smaller ones, and those that guarded a
medium-sized intervalare relievedof that function by others
that were intendedto servefor a smalleror largerone. Consequently,the most hideous oaths escape the instrumentsthat
are not providedwith tuning pegs, or that are unableto moderate their pitch by means of breath pressure, employed as
judiciouslyas is done by Mr Blavet.
Each time there is a modulation, in other words, the
relationshipsof the semitones is jumbled in the first octave,
and consequentlythe others that are tuned to it.
1991

1742/3
Georg Philipp Telemann,'Neues musicalischesSystem',in L. C. Mizler,MusikalischeBibliothek,iii/4

(Leipzig,1752/R1966),pp.713-19[plus tables]8
p.716:
Mein System hat keine ClaviermassigeTemperatur zum
Grunde,sondern zeiget die Klinge, so, wie sie auf uneingeschrinkten Intrumenten,als Violoncell,Violineetc, wo nicht
v6llig, doch bey nahe, rein genommen werden k6nnen, welches denn die tigliche Erfahrunglehret.
My systemis not basedon any keyboardtemperament;rather,

it displaysthe sounds found on unrestrictedinstrumentslike
the cello, violin etc, that can playpurely(if not alwaysentirely,
nearlyso), as day-to-dayexperienceteaches.
p.718:
Es bestimmeteine durchgehendsproportionirlicheGleichheit It brings about a universalproportionateequalityamong the
unter den Intervallen.... Es sind etwan ein Duzend Jahre,da intervals.... Only a dozen yearsago, I myselfstillbelievedthat
ich selbst noch glaubete, man worde bey Anh6rung etlicher the hearing of some of these harmonies would cause one to
von derenHarmoniedas Balsambiichschenzur Hand nehmen reachfor the smellingsalts.But experiencehas takenthis error
miissen.Alleindie Erfahrunghat mir den Irrthumbenommen, from me, and shown that C#-Eb and Ab-Cbb taste of the
u. dargethan,dass C#, Eb u. Ab-Cbb nach einerley Geworze same spice.9
schmecken.
1743
Jean-JacquesRousseau,Dissertationsur la musiquemoderne(Paris),in Oeuvres,xix, p.130.
du temperamentintroduitdansla modulation
Lam&chanique
des tons si durs, par exemplele reet le sol diesis, qu'ilsne sont
pas supportablesa l'oreille..... Lavoix ne se conformejamais
... a moins qu'elle n'y soit contrainte par l'unisson des
instrumens.
1744
In modulations,the mechanismsof temperamentcause such

unpleasantnotes, for exampleD and G#, that they areimpossible to listen to. .... Singersneverconform to them . .. except
when forced to do so at points where they are in unison with
the instruments.
sowohlder Orgelwerke,als auch anderer

GeorgAndreasSorge,Anweisungzur Stimmungund Temperatur
Instrumente,sonderlichaberdes Claviers(Hamburg)
p.24:
... die andere [temperamentwith unequal division of the
comma] m6chte sich zum musicirenim Cammer-Ton,wenn
die Orgel im Chor-Tonstehet, besserSchicken,denn da wird
der ModusAs dur oft, E dur aber wohl gar nicht gebrauchet.
Ingleichenkommt Esdurgaroft, H durabergarnicht vor.Wiederummuss B duroder auch D duroftmalsherhalten,da hergegen Fis dur nicht leicht erscheinenwird.
[He gives two versionsof an irregulartemperament;he says
that] . . . die Waldhorneraus dem Eswie auch die Oboenwerzufriedenseyn."
den ganz wohl mit dieser Temperatur
... the other [temperamentwith unequal division of the

comma] may work better when playingin Cammer-Tonwith
an organ in Chor-Ton,since the key of Ab majoris often used
but E major practicallynever."'Likewise,Eb major appears
quite frequentlybut B majoralmost never.Again,Bb majoror
also D majorwill often appear,while on the contraryone rarely
sees F# major.
[He gives two versionsof an irregulartemperament;he says
that] . . . the horns in Eb and also the oboes will be quite satisfied with this temperament.
P-35:
So dann fangeman im f, an, und stimme solchesnach Belieben One beginsthen on f and tunes in Chor-Tonor Cammer-Ton
in Chor- oder Cammer-Ton,nachdem das Clavierbeschaffen (depending on in which the harpsichordis tuned) approximately to the pitch of a recorderor traverso.
ist, etwa nach einer Flute douceoder Traveriere[sic].
P.53:
als die Flutesdouges,sind bis
Die Fliten, sowohl die Traversen
und hatten
datomit einer garschlechtenTemperaturversehen,
die HerrenPfeifenmacherhohe Ursache,sich um die Lehreder
Canonicund Harmonicmehr als andere Musici zu bekhimmern, oder doch ihre Instrumenteso viel immer moglich nach
einer wohl temperirtenOrgel zu stimmen und einzurichten.
372
EARLY MUSIC
Flutes,both traversosand recorders,have been provideduntil

now with a very bad temperament,and the gentlemen who
make them have more need than other musiciansto concern
themselveswith the acousticsof music, or at least to tune and
regulate their instruments as closely as possible to a welltemperedorgan.On traversos,the F,G# and B aregenerallythe
AUGUST 1991

Auf den Traversenfehlet es gemeiniglich am f, gis und b am

meisten. Ich glaubeaber,es sey gahrwohl m6glich auch diesen
Tonen ihr beh6rigesRecht zu thun. Mit den Flutesdoupessiehet es noch schlimmeraus, und sind auch noch tiblerzu zwingen als die Traversen.Doch halte daftir, dass sie in der
Stimmung zu verbessernsind. Wenn nur die Pfeifenmacher
erst Harmoniciwiren, hernach solte es sich auch schon mit
ihnen geben.
Die Oboessind auch noch nicht mit der besten Temperatur
versehen.Sol ihnen geholfenwerden,so muss ein Harmonicus,
ein guter Oboistund ein Pfeifenmacherbey einerwohl temperirten Orgel zugleich Hand anlegen. Der Oboisteund Pfeifenmacher aber dtirffennicht eigensinnig seyn, sondern mtissen
Raison annehmen und spitzige Ohren zum Werke bringen.
Und solches ist auch von denen Fl6ten zu verstehen.
Die brauchbarenund unentbehrlichenGeigen habens am
besten, jedoch miissen ihre 3 Quinten beh6rigermassentemperat? [sic] gestimmet werden, so dass sie ein klein weniges
abwertsschweben,sonsten kommen sie, wenn z.E. im g angefangen,und solches mit der Orgelvolkommen rein gestimmet
worden, mit a, und e2ein merklicheszu hoch, wenn sie namlich alle 3 Quinten ohne Schwebungrein stimmen wolten. Das
iibrigekammt auf ein gutes Geh6r und reinen Griffan...
worst offenders.But I believethatit should be quitepossibleto

correcteven these notes. The situationwith recordersis worse
yet, and they areeven harderto control than traversos,though
I believe they can be improved. If only flute-makerswere also
theoreticians,things would naturallygo better.
The oboes are also not furnishedwith the best of temperaments.They could be helped if an acoustician,a good oboist,
and a woodwind maker examined together a well-tempered
organ.The oboist and woodwind-makershould not, however,
be headstrongand obstinate,but Reason,togetherwith sharp
ears, should govern all. And the same goes for the flutes, of
course.
The useful and indispensablefiddles are the best off; still,
their three 5ths must be correctly[tuned], so they beat a little.
Otherwise,if the 5thsareall tuned purelywithout beating,and
(for example) the G is tuned exactlyto the organ,the A and E
will be noticeablytoo high [comparedto the organ]. For the
rest, everything depends on a good ear and accurate
fingering ...
Sorge also advisessingers to follow the keyboardtemperament(p.55).

1748 GeorgAndreasSorge, Gespriichzwischeneinem musicotheoreticound einemstudiosomusices(Lobenstein)
p.21:
Mit einem Wort:Die SilbermannischeArt zu temperiren,kan
bey heutiger Praxinicht bestehen.
p.51:
Besser gefillt mir das bertihmten Herrn CapellmeisterTelemanns SystemaIntervallorum,als welcherdie Octavin 55.geometrische Abschnitte (Commata) die von Stufe zu Stufe
kleiner werden, theilet.
In a word-Silbermann's way of temperingcannot exist with

modern practice.'2
The famous Herr CapellmeisterTelemann'sSystemaintervallorumpleasesme better,in which the octave is divided into 55
units, or commas, which become smallerfrom step to step.
p.52:
... die kleineste Secund vom Einklange [ist] unterschieden S. . the [intervalof a] 'smallestsecond' differsfrom a unison
... um den neundten Theil eines grossen Tons, oder um ein by the ninth part of a whole tone, or one comma.This same
Comma.Und um so viel ist auch #C:bD, D:bbE,#D:bE, E:bF, amount distinguishesalso C#/Db, D/Ebb, D#/Eb, E/Fb,E#/F,
#E:F,#F:bG,xF:G,#G:bA, A:bbH, H:bc, #H:c und c:bbd etc, F#/Gb, G#/Ab, A/Bbb, B/Cb, B#/C and C/Dbb etc.
unterschieden.
p.58:
0! wie mancherGeigerfingt seine Partieanzuspielen,und hat
nicht einmahl seine Geige behorig gestimmet, wo will denn
hernach die Reinigkeit herkommen? ... o Blindheit, o!
Unwissenheit!wie gross bist du noch in der musikalischen
Welt an manchen Orten.
p.61:
... tiber Herrn CapellmeistersTelemannsSystema... Mich
dtinckt es sey gar schicklich,wenn man zu einer jeden Note
Oh! When so many fiddlersbegin to play their parts without

having even properlytuned their instruments,how will pure
tuning ever be achieved?... Oh blindness! Oh ignorance!
How greatyou remainin so many partsof the world of music.
... about HerrCapellmeisterTelemann'sSystema... I would

think that it would be more appropriateif each separatenote
EARLY MUSIC

AUGUST 1991
373
auch einen besondern Klang oder Clavembestimmet, und

nicht einem Clavizwey- bis dreyerleyNoten zueignet,wie wir
ietzo in unsernClavierthun miissen ... AufsClavierwird sich
dieses Systemnicht applicirenlassen;'3auf der Geigeaber,und
einigen Blase-Instrumenten,m6chte es eher thunlich seyn;
denen Sangernaber ist es am leichtesten.
were producedby its own specialsound and key, ratherthan,

as on present-daykeyboards,one key for two and even three
[different]notes ... This system cannot be applied to a keyboard instrument, but it may be rather convenient for the
fiddle and certain wind instruments, and is the easiest for
singers.
1750 AlexanderJ. Ellis, 'On the History of MusicalPitch',Journalof the Societyof Arts(5 March1880); reprinted
in A. J. Ellis and A. Mendel, Studiesin the Historyof MusicalPitch (Amsterdam,1968),p.37

I am indebtedto Mr E. J. Hopkins, organistof the Temple,for
furnishingme with a MS note made by Mr Leffler(d. 1819),
organistof St Katherine's,then by the Tower,with Mr W. Russell, then organistof the Foundling,which describesthe great
peculiarityof this organ [FoundlingHospital,Glynand Parker,
opened by Handelin 1750and playedby him subsequently].It
had the usual12keys to the octave,but a means of alteringthe
notes sounded by four of them. Therewas a sliderwith three
restsabovethe drawstops on each side. When the sliderswere
at the centralrest, the 12notes were the usual 12of the meantone temperament,E flat, B flat, F,C, G, D, A, E, B, F sharp,C
sharp,G sharp.If the left-handsliderwereput full to the left, E

flat was changedinto D sharp,and if the right-handsliderwere
put full to the right, B flat was changedinto A sharp.If, however,the right-handsliderwere put full to the left, G sharpwas
changedinto A flat, and if the left-handsliderwere put full to
the right, C sharp became D flat. .
. Mr Hopkins always
understoodthat this arrangementwas due to Dr RobertSmith

of TrinityCollege,Cambridge.... The TempleOrganand the
oldest Durhamorganhad an Eflat and D sharp,an Aflat and G
sharp,that is two and not four additionalnotes, and these were
introducedby divided keys and not by sliders ...
FrancescoGeminiani, TheArt of Playingon the Violin(London), p.3
1751
Geminiani recommended that beginners finger enharmonic twins at the same place on the neck of the violin,
but said,
This rule concerning the Flats and Sharps is not absolutely

exact.The Octavealso must be dividedinto 12Semitones,that
is, 7 of the greaterand 5 of the lesser.
[in Frenchand
1752 JohannJoachimQuantz, Essaid'une methodepour apprendrea jouer de la FlUteTraversiere
sec.
trans.
8;
1966;2/1987),chap.3par.2,3, 5, chap.16,par. 4, 7; chap.17, vi, par. 20;
German] (Berlin;Eng.
sec. vii, par.4,8, 914
chap.3/5:
On verrapar la, que les tons, etant indiquespar le b mol sont
d'un Comma plus hauts, que quand ils sont marquespar un
Diese.
From these tablesyou can see that the notes indicatedwith a

flat are a comma higher than those indicatedwith a sharp.
chap.3/8:
Ce qui m'a porte Aajoutera la Flute encore une Clef qui n'y a
pas ete auparavant,c'est la difference entre les Demitons
majeurs& mineurs.... Le Demiton majeura cinq Comma;le
What led me to add another key not previouslyused on the

flute was the differencebetween major and minor semitones.
... The majorsemitonehas five commas,the minor only four.
For this reason,Eb must be a comma higherthan D9. If there
Demiton mineur n'en a que quatre. II faut par consequent
were only one key on the flute, both Eb and D? would have to
qu'Es (mi b mol) soit d'un Comma plus haut que Dis (re Diese).
S'il n'y avoit qu'une Clef sur la Flute,il faudroitentonnerl'un be played similarly,as on the harpsichord,where they are
& l'autre, Es (mi b mol) & Dis (re Diese) de la m~me fagon, playedfrom the samekey;so that neitherEbto Bb (the ascendcomme on fait sur le Clavecin,oii on les touche par une meme ing 5th) nor D? to B (the descendingmajor3rd)would be well
touche; c'est Adire les deux intervallessont temperes;desorte in tune. In orderto makethis differenceclear,and to placethe
que ni Es (mi b mol)a B (si b mol),comme la Quinteparen bas; notes in their correct proportion, it was necessary to add
ni Dis (reDiese)aH (si), comme la Tierceen haut, n'accordent anotherkey.. . . It is true that this distinctionis impossibleto
parfaitementbien. Pour marquer donc cette difference, & make on the harpsichord,where each pair of notes we wish to
374
EARLY MUSIC
AUGUST
1991

entonner nettement les tons selon leur proportion, il 6toit

necessaired'ajouterencore une Clef. ... Il est vrai que cette
differencene peut pas etre exprimee sur le Clavecin,oh l'on
touche tous ces tons qu'on distingueici, sur une meme touche,
ayant recours a la Temperatureou Participation.Cependent
cette differenceetant fond&edans la naturedes tons, & pouvant etre observ&esans peine par les Chanteurs& les Joueurs
d'instrumens d'archet, il est juste de l'exprimer aussi sur la
Flute, ce qui ne se peut sans l'autreClef.'5La connoissanceen
est necessairea qui veut rendrefin, precis & net ce qui appartient Al'oreille dans ia Musique.16
chap.16/4:
Dans une piece en mode Es (mi b mol)&As (la b mol),on peut
accorderla Fluteun peu plus bas qu'atous les autresmodes;les
modes avec les b mols etant d'un comma plus hauts que ceux
avec les dieses.'
chap.16/7:
S'il se trouveque les Violons sont plus hautsque le Clavecin;ce
qui peut aisementarriver,quandleurs Quintes sont accordees
un peu trop haut, au lieu qu'ellesdoiventl'etreun peu plus bas,
comme il fautque cela soit observeau Clavecin;ce qui causeen
quatreQuintesqui sont ainsi accorddes,une differenceconsiderable:alorsle joueur de Fluteest oblige de se reglerplutot aux
Violons qu'au Clavecin,ceux-la se faisantentendredavantage
que celui-ci .... cette faute ne se commet que par ceux qui
traitentla Musicquecomme un metier,dans lequel ils ne trouvent pas un veritableplaisir,& non pas par des Musiciensraisonables & experimentes,qui aiment la Musique& qui jouent
pour plaire a des oreilles ddlicates.
chap.17/vi/2o:
Chaque joueur de Clavecin qui connoit la proportion des
intervalles,sauraaussi, que les Demi tons mineurs comme D
(re) avec la diese, & E (mi) avec le b mol, &c. diffhrentd'un
Comma, & causent par consequent sur cet instrument, oihil
n'y a pas des touches partagees,quelque inegalitedans l'intonation Al'6garddes autres instrumens,qui donnent ces tons
dans leur juste proportion. Cela est surtout sensible quand le
Clavecinjoue avecquelquesuns de ces instrumensa l'Unisson.
Or comme on ne peut pas toujours 6viterces tons-la, surtout
aux modes ofi il y a beaucoupde dieses & de b mols; I'Accompagnateurfait bien de les mettre au milieu ou dans la partie
inferieure de l'accord, ou si un de ces tons fait la Tierce
mineure, de l'omettretout afait. Carce sont particulierement
les Tierces mineures, dont le ton est tres imparfait& defectueux, lorsqu'ellesse rencontrent avec la partie principale 'a
l'Unisson dans les Octaves hautes. J'entendssous ces Tierces
mineuresprincipalementles tons C, D & E adeux lignes (ut, re
& mi secondsde la Flute),quand il y a un b mol devanteux, ou
pour dire bri~vement,les tons Ces (ut b mol),Des (re b mol) &
Es (mi b mol). Cependantj'y ref~reaussi G & A a une ligne (sol
&la premiers),& D & E a deux lignes (re &mi seconds),lorqu'ils sont pr~cid~spar un didse; car 6tant des Tierces
majeures,ils sont trop fort dans leur temperature& par con-
distinguishareproducedwith a singlekey,makingit necessary

to have recourse to tempering. But since this difference is
basedon the natureof the notes and can be producedwithout
difficulty by singers and string players, it is reasonable to
observeit on the flute as well (and this cannot be done without
the extra key). Appreciationof this difference between flats
and sharps is needed by anyone who wants to develop a
refined, exact and accurateear in music.
In piecesin Eb andAb, the flute can be tuned a littlelowerthan

in all the other keys, the flat keys being a comma higher than
the sharp.
If the violins should happento be tuned higherthan the harpsichord,which can easilyhappen if their 5ths are tuned a little
wide ratherthan (as must be done on the harpsichord)a little
narrow,the flute playeris obligedto adjustmore to the violins
since they are more audiblethan the harpsichord.Tuningthe
four 5ths wide on the violin causes a considerabledifference
with the harpsichord. . . it is a mistake made only by those
who considermusic as a mere tradefrom which they deriveno
realsatisfaction,not by thoughtfuland experiencedartistswho
love music and play in order to please refinedears.
Everyharpsichordistwho understandsthe proportionof intervals will also know that minor semitoneslike D-D# and E-Eb,
etc, differby a comma, and thereforecause on this instrument
(unless the keys are split) certain intonation problems with
other instrumentsthat playthese notes in theircorrectproportions. This is especiallynoticeablewhen the harpsichordplays
with any of these instrumentsin unison. Now, sincethese notes
cannot alwaysbe avoided,especiallyin keys with many sharps
or flats,the accompanistdoes well to put them in the middle or
lowerpart of the chord, or if such a note makesa minor third,
to omit it altogether.For it is especiallythese minor 3rds that
sound so imperfectand defectivewhen playedin unison with
the principalpartin the upperoctaves.I am referringmainlyto
the minor 3rdswhen c",d"and e"(the second-octaveut, re and
mi on the flute) areprecededby a flat,or to put it more briefly,
the notes cb",db"and eb".I am also referring,however,to g'
and a' (first-octavesol and la), and d"and e"(second octavere
and mi) when precededby a sharp,since as major3rds,they are
too wide in theirtemperamentandthereforetoo high. It is true
that this difference [in intonation] is not as clear when the
harpsichordis playedby itself, or when it accompaniesa large
ensemble. But when the notes are in unison with another
instrument, the difference is quite audible, since the other
EARLY MUSIC

AUGUST 1991
375
sequenttrop haut. Il est vrai qu'on ne sauroitremarquercette instrumentsplay them in their correctratios,whereason the
difference si distinctement, en jouant seul du Clavecin, ou harpsichordthey are merely tempered. For this reason, it is
accompagnantdans une Musiquede beaucoup de personnes. better to omit them entirely,ratherthan offend the ear.
Maislorsqueces tons se rencontrenta l'Unissonavecun autre
instrument, la difference se fait entendre beaucoup, a cause
que les autresinstrumensles donnent dans leur juste proportion, pendant que sur le Clavecin ils ne sont que temper&s.
C'estpourquoiil vaut mieux de les omettretout afait,que d'en
blesserl'oreille.
chap.17/vii/4:
Pour accorderd'une manierepr&cisele Violon, je crois qu'on
ne feroit pas mal, si l'on suivoit la regle qu'on observe en
accordantle Clavecinc.a.d. que les Quintesferont un peu foibles, & non pas tout nettes, comme on les accordeordinairement, ni encore moins trop fortes;afin que toutes les cordes
nues soient egales avec le Clavecin.Car si l'on veut accorder
toutes les Quintesnettes &fortes,il s'ensuitnaturellement,que
de quatrecordesil n'y auraqu'unequi seraegale avecle Clavecin. Maissi l'on accordela cordeA (la) tout egale avecle Clavecin, & E (mi) un peu foible contre I'A (la), D (re) un peu fort
contre I'A (la), & G (sol) de meme contre D (re); les deux
instrumensseront d'accordensemble.
chap.17/vii/8:
Il y a des personnes qui sentent fort bien, moyennant leur
finesse naturellede l'oui, quand un autrejoue faux;mais elles
ne s'en appergoiventpas quand elles commettent la meme
faute elles memes, & ne sauroient y remedier. Le meilleur
moyen pour se tirerde cette ignorance,est le Monochorde,sur
lequel on peut apprendrele plus distinctementa connoitreles
proportionsdes tons. Il seroit n&cessaire,que non seulement
chaqueChanteur,mais aussi chaquejoueur d'instruments'en
rendit familier l'usage. Ils acquerroientpar-la, de beaucoup
plus de bonne heure,la connoissancedes Demi tons mineurs,
& apprendroientque les tons marquespar un b mol, doivent
etre un Comma aplus hauts que ceux qui ont un didsedevant
eux; au lieu que sans ces lumieres ils sont obliges de se fier
absolument a l'oreille, dont le jugement est pourtant quelquefois bien trompeur. Une telle connoissance du Monochorde se demande principalementdes joueurs de Violon &
d'autresinstrumens"iarchet, auxquelleson ne peut pas, par
rapportAla mise des doigts, prescriredes bornes comme aux
instrumensa vent.
chap.17/vii/9:
Lorsqu'ontrouve les Sousdemi tons proprement dits, c.a.d.
qu'un ton baiss6 par le b mol se change en celui, qui lui est
imm~diatementinferieur & qui est hauss6 par un didse, ou
qu'un ton hauss6 par le didse se change en celui, qui lui est
imm~diatementsuperieur& qui est baiss6par le b mol... le
ton avec le dikse est un Comma plus bas, que celui avec le b
mol. Quand ces deux notes sont lidesensemble,v. Tab.XXIII.
376
EARLY MUSIC
AUGUST
To tune the violin accurately,I believe one would not do badly

to follow the same rule as for tuning the harpsichord,that is,
with the 5thsa littlenarrow(andnot entirelyperfect,let alonea
littlewide, as commonlyhappens),so thatthe open stringswill
agree with the harpsichord.If one tries to tune all the 5ths
purely or wide, the result will be that only one of the four
strings will be in tune with the harpsichord.But if the A is
tuned preciselyto the harpsichord,the E slightlyflat to the A,
the D a little sharpto the A, and the G likewiseto the D, the two
instrumentswill be in tune together.
Thereare some playerswho havea verygood ear and who can

easilyperceivefalseplayingby others,but areunawareof committing the same mistake themselves, and would not know
how to remedy it. The best manner of escape from this ignorance is the monochord, on which one can clearlylearn the
intervals. Every singer and instrumentalist should become
familiarwith its use. They would thereby learn to recognize
minor semitones much earlier as well as the fact that notes
markedwith a flat must be a comma higherthan those with a
sharpin front of them. Withoutthese insightsone is obligedto
depend entirelyon the ear,which can howeverdeceive one at
times. Knowledgeof the monochord is requiredespeciallyof
playersof the violin and other stringedinstruments,on which
one cannot use the placementof the fingersas an exact guide,
as one can on wind instruments.
If sub-semitones (to use their correct name) appear consecutively,in other words if a note lowered by a flat becomes
transformedinto the note just below it, raisedby a sharp [or
vice versa], .. . the note with a sharpis a comma lowerthanthe
one with a flat. [For example, G4should be a comma lower
than Ab.]'8If these two notes are tied to each other (as in
[ex.i]), one must draw back one's finger a little for the sharp
1991

Fig.6.il faut retirerle doigt un peu surle diese qui suit le b mol;
autrementla Tiercemajeureseroit trop haute contre la partie
fondamentale.
Si au contrairele b mol suit apres le diese, v.Fig.7.il faut
aupresde la note avecle b mol, avancerle doigt autantqu'on le
retiredans l'exemplepr&cedent... On observela meme chose
atous les instrumens,excepteau Clavecin,oii l'on ne peut pas
effectuerdes Sous-demi tons, & lequel pour cette raison doit
avoirune bonne Temperature,afinqu'on puisse souffrirl'un &
l'autrede ces tons. Surles instrumensa vent ce changementse
faitparle moyen de l'embouchure,de fagonque surla Fluteon
hausse le ton en la tournant en dehors, & on le baisse en la
tournanten dedans.Surl'Hautbois[sic] &le Bassonles tons se
haussent, quand on avancel'anche plus dedans la bouche, &
qu'on presse plus les levres ensemble; & ils deviennent plus
bas, quand on retirel'anche & relacheles lievres [sic].
Ex.
1754
But if, as in [ex.2],the flat followsthe sharp,the fingermust

be advancedas much for the flat as it was drawnback in the
precedingexample ... This same thing is done on all instruments except the harpsichord,where the sub-semitonescannot be effected,causingit for this reason to have recourseto a
good temperamentwhich allows either note to be endurable.
On wind instruments, these changes are accomplished
through embouchure corrections. On the flute, the pitch is
raised by turning it outwards and lowered by turning it
inwards.On the oboe and bassoon,the pitch is raisedwhen the
reedis advancedin the mouth and the lips arepressedtogether.
It is loweredby withdrawingthe reed and relaxingthe lips.
Ex.2
et de la pratiquede la musique(Paris),p.135
JeanLaurentde B&thizey,Expositionde la thedorie
... comment la voix s'ajuste-t-elleau temperament... d'un

. . instrument:Pour entonner la premierenote d'un air,elle
se reglesur la note tonique du mode principal,telle qu'elleest
rendueparl'instrument,&forme ensuiteles differensintervalles . .. sansegarda l'alterationdes notes que l'instrumentfait
entendre.
Lorsqu'un nouveau mode paroit, la voix est
....
de
se
conformer
obligee
a la manidredont l'instrumentrend la
nouvelletonique... Si la voix &l'instrumentformentensemble une tenue Al'unisson ou a l'octave,la voix est forc&ede se
conformerAl'instrument..... Quandla voix est accompagn&e
de plusieursinstruments,si l'un d'eux se fait mieux entendre
que les autres,la voix se conduit, comme si elle n'etaitaccompagnee que de cette [sic] instrument.Si tous ou quelques-uns
se font entendre aussi bien l'un que l'autre, la voix . . . ne
s'ajusteau temperamentd'aucune [sic] d'eux, Amoins que ce
temperamentne tienne le milieu entre les autres,mais se fait
alors un temperamentque lui est particulier.
1754
following the flat; otherwise the major 3rd will be too high
againstthe fundamentalnote.
... how a singer adjusts to the temperament ... of an ...

instrument:to sing the firstnote of an aria,the singerrefersto
the tonic note of the principalkey as playedby the instrument,
and subsequentlyadjusts the different intervals . . . without
referenceto the notes playedby the instrument .... When a
new key appears,the singer is obliged to conform to the new
tonic as rendered by the instrument. . . . if the voice and
instrument play a unison or octave together, the voice is
obliged to conform to the instrument. .... When the singer is
accompanied by several instruments, of which one is more
audiblethan the others,the singerperformsas if accompanied
by this instrumentalone. If severalor all of them are equally
audible,the singer ... does not adjustto any of their temperaments (or perhaps finds their average),but performs in his
own particulartemperament.
Giuseppe Tartini, Tratatto di musica (Padua, R1966), pp.99-loo
Di fattoil Bassoorganicorinchiudetuttal'armonia;e cantanti,

e suonatorisi accordanocon l'organoper ben' intuonare.Ma
organo,e clavicembalo(se non si moltiplichinoi tastia dismisura) non hanno altro intrevallo perfettamenteaccordato, se
non la ottava;e quasi tutti gli altri intervallidi quinte, quarte,
terze maggiori, e minore, tuoni, e semituoni sono accordati
per discretivotemperamento,e non secondo la ragione, o sia
In fact, the organ bass contains the complete harmony;and

both singersand instrumentaliststune to the organfor the sake
of good intonation. But (unless the keys are multipliedexcessively) the organ and harpsichord have no other perfectly
tuned intervalsbesides the octave;almost all the other intervals, such as 5ths, 4ths, majorand minor 3rds,2nds and semitones are tuned by arbitrarytemperaments,and not in their
EARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
377
forma dell'intervallorispettivo. Dunque e impossibile l'uso

della scala suddetta in precisione di ragioni, percht in tal
necessariotemperamentole ragionirestanoalteratenella loro
forma.
... Io nel mio Violino, dove suonandoa doppiacordaposso
incontrarfisicamentela formadell'intervalo,di cui e segno fisico dimostrativoil tal terzo suono, che deve risultare,ho il vantaggioper me, e per i miei scolari'9dellasicuraintonazione,e in
conseguenzadell'usorealedellascalasuddettain precisionedi
ragioni. Bisogna per6 avvertire, che questa scale, bench
dimostrativamentededotta, non e perfetta intieramente in
ciascunpossibileconfronto delle note musicalicostituenti...
correctratio,or accordingto their respectiveintervals.The use

of the above-mentioned [purely tuned] scale is therefore
impossible in its exact ratios, becausethe necessityof using a
temperamentaltersit from its true form.
... When I play my violin, using double stops, I find an
interval'sproperratiothrougha physicalsensation,which can
[also] be establishedscientifically.The correct3rd that I play
resultsinevitably,and gives me, and my students, the advantage of assuredintonation, and in consequencethe true usage
of the above-mentioned scale in its precise ratios. I should,
though, point out that this scale, however convincingly
derived, is still not completely perfect in every possible situation in its constituent musical notes ...
Leopold Mozart, Versuch einer griindlichen Violinschule (Augsburg)"2
1756
p.66, note:
Auf dem Claviersind Gis und As, Des und Cis, Fis und Ges,
u.f.f. eins. Das machtdie Temperatur.Nach dem richtigenVerhaltnisseabersind alle die durchdas (b) erniedrigtenToneum
ein Kommahdher als die durch das (#) erh6hetenNoten.
On the keyboard,G# and Ab, D$ and Eb, F$ and Gb, etc, are
the same. That makes the temperament.But accordingto the
correct ratios, all the notes lowered by a flat are a comma
higher than those raisedby a sharp.
p.69, note:
das (b) erniedrigtenTOneum ein Kommahoher als die durch
das ($) erhbhetenNoten. Z.B. Des ist hoher als Cis;As hbher
als Gis, Ges hoher als Fis, u.s.w. Hier muss das gute Geh6r
Richterseyn:Und es warefreilichgut, wenn man die Lehrlinge
zu dem Klangmasser(Monochordon)ffihrete.
Notes loweredby a flat are a comma higher than those raised

by a sharp.Db, for instance,is higherthan C$; Ab higherthan
G#, Gb higherthan F#, etc. An accurateear must be the guide
here; it would be very useful for the student to make use of a
monochord.
p.191:
Ich habe die Probe auf der Violin, dass beym Zusammen- I have noticed that on the violin, when two notes are played
streichen zweener Tone auch so gar bald die Terz, bald die simultaneously,the 3rd,6th or octave,etc, also spontaneously
Quint, bald die Octavu.s.f. von sich selbstauf eben dem nim- sound on the instrument.Everyonecan use this as a reliable
lichen Instrumentedazu klinge. Dieses dienet nun zur untrU- mannerof checkingif notes are being playedin tune and corglichen Probe, womit sich ieder selbst priifen kann, ob er die rectly.For if two notes (which I will indicatemore specifically
Tone rein und reichtig zu spielen weiss. Denn wenn zweene below) are drawnout of the violin in a good and correctmanTone, wie ich sie unten anzeigen werde, gut genommen und ner, then the lower voice will also be clearlyaudible, though
recht aus der Violin, so zu reden, herausgezogen werden;so muffled and raspingin sound. If, however,the notes are not
wird man zu gleicherZeit die Unterstimmein einem gewissen played in tune, and one or other is fingeredeven slightlytoo
betaubtenund schnarrendenLautgardeutlichhoren:sind die low or too high, the lower note will also be false.
Tonehingegennicht rein gegriffen,und einer oder der andere
nur um ein bisschenzu hoch oder zu tief;so ist auchdie Unterstimme falsch.
Georg Andreas Sorge, 'Anmerkung iiber Herrn Quantzens ... dis und es-Klappe auf der QuerflOte',F.W.
Marpurg, Historisch-kritische Beytriige (Berlin, R1970), iv, pp.l-721
Sorge concludes that the comma described by Quantz is the same as Scheibe's (1739) and Telemann's (1742/3), as it is
the only one that will fit exactly 55 times into an octave.
1758
Betrachtenwir diesescommatischeSystemgegendas rationalgleich gestimmte Clavier,so finden wir einen betrachtlichen

Unterschied...
Wasnun hier von den TonartC gesagtist, das gilt bey allen
ubrigenTonarten.Denn wir setzen voraus, dass ein Flktenist
allemahlseine Flote nach dem Grundtoneder jenigen Tonart
einstimmen mdsse, woraus er spielet.
378
EARLY
MUSIC
AUGUST
Ifwe comparethis systemwith the well-temperedharpsichord,

we will discovera considerablevariation...
What is said here for the key of C majoris valid also for all
the other keys, as we are assumingthat a flautistmust always
tune his instrumentto the tonic of whicheverkey he will be
playing.
1991

Hier scheinet es nun, als wenn man zu wtinschen Ursach

hitte, dass das Claviermit noch mehrernTastenin der Octav
mdchte versehenwerden. Allein wenn man erweget,dass der
nattirlicheSprengeleiner Tonartso weit nicht gehet, dass die
Abweichungein ganzes Comma betrUge;und dass bey Aufftihrrungeines Sticks es auch viel auf die Moderationdes F16tenisten ankomme:So wird man finden, dass es nicht rathsam
sey, das Claviermit noch mehrernTastenzu versehen.
Wenn man auchbedenket,dass die Querfl6teeben nicht 24
Tonartennothig habe, wie das Clavier,so kann man mit einer
ungleichenTemperaturder Eubereinstimmungmit der Querfl6te, in den meisten Tonarten,noch naher kommen, als mit
der rationalgleichen Temperatur.
Now, it appears(if one could haveeverywish) that the harpsichord actuallyneeds to be provided with more keys in the
octave. But when we consider that the naturalspace required
by each tonality does not exceed the divergence of a whole
comma;and that,in the performanceof a piece, much depends
on the discretionof the flautist,we can conclude that it is not
advisableto provide the harpsichordwith additional [split]
keys.
When we also considerthat the traversodoes not actuallyneed
all 24 keys, as does the harpsichord,it would be easier to
approachthe tuning of a traversoin most keys with an irregular temperamentratherthan the well-temperedone.
Sorge gives an example for D major and compares it with Telemann's system; while it is close, it offers only D# and
G#, etc, and so fails to solve the question of enharmonic equivalents. Sorge offers several other irregular temperaments, each adapted to a particular key, which, as he points out, obliges the flautist to limit strictly his choice of keys
in a concert. He concludes with his own personal opinion that equal temperament would eliminate the need for
enharmonic distinctions.
1767
Georg Philipp Telemann,LetzteBeschiiftigungG. Ph. Telemannsim 86. Lebensjahre,bestehendaus einer

musikalischeKlang- und IntervallenTafel,in Unterhaltungen,
iii (Hamburg)22
Man schmelzet beyde nahen Klange [C:/Db] nach Veranlassung des Claviersin einen zusammen ...
Dass des und es zween unterschiedeneKlinge ausmachen,solches findet sich auch bey den Violinen, wo des mit dem 4ten,
und 6s mit dem kleinen Finger gegriffen wird; desgleichen
haben die Traversierenhierzu zwo besondere Klappen. . ."
1773
Because of the harpsichord, the two neighbouring sounds

[C:/Db] are fused together into one ...
That D: and Eb are two separatesounds is demonstratedby
the violin, where D: is played with the fourth finger and Eb
with the fifth; traversosare the same with their two separate
keys. ..
CharlesBurney,ThePresentState of Musicin Germany,the Netherlands,and the UnitedProvinces...
(London), i, p.313
... in the ... divisions of tones and semi-tones into infinitelyminute parts,and yet alwaysstopping on the exact fundamental,
SignoraMartinetzwas more perfectthan any singerI had everheard:her cadencestoo, of this kind, wereverylearned,and truly
pathetic and pleasing.
[?1774]
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 'Extrait d'une reponse du petit faiseur', Oeuvres (1781)
While not advocating equal temperament, Rousseau was very early in discussing the concept of 'tendency notes'. In
suggesting that B natural should be higher because it leads to C, he says:
Ceci,je le saisbien, est directementcontraireaux calculsetablis I know well that this is in direct contradictionto established
et A l'opinion commune, qui donne le nom de semi-ton reckoningand the generalopinion, which gives to the passage
mineur au passaged'une note ason diese ou a son b mol, et de of a note to its sharpor flat the name 'minor semitone',and to
semi-ton majeurau passaged'une note au b mol sup rieurou the passageof a note to its next-higherflat or next-lowersharp
au dikse inf6rieur.
the name 'majorsemitone'.
F. de Castillon,'Flhitetraversierea deux cles',Diderot and d'Alembert,Encyclopedie,

1777
supplement24
Castillonincludedan interestingcomment that appliesto the over-smallintervalbetweenthe low IV/IV# on all the
woodwinds of the period (F/F# on traversoand oboe, Bb/B on recorderand bassoon):
... les flutes de M. Quantz differentencore des autrespar le
temperament. Ordinairementle fa des flltes traversitresest
tant soit peu trop haut &le fa diese est juste;dans les n6tres,au
contraire,lefa est juste, &lefa dikseun peu trop bas. ... Rare-
... M. Quantz'sflutes differ from all others in their tuning.

Usuallythe F on the transverseflute is not flat enough and the
F4 is correct;in his, on the contrary,the F is true and the F: a
little flat. . . . Rarely,if ever,is music written in the key of F?,
EARLY
MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
379
ment, ou plut6t jamais,on ne compose une pice en fa diese,

soit majeur,soit mineur;mais on en compose tres-souventen
fa, majeur& mineur.Lefa diese ne paroit donc guerecomme
fondamentale,& il vaut bien mieux l'alt rer que le fa qui est la
fondamentale d'un mode, non-seulement tres-usit6, mais
encore un des plus beaux pour la flCite;d'ailleurs,on peut
forcer le fa diese par le moyen de l'embouchure,mais le fa
devient d'abordfaux.
either major or minor, but very often in F major and minor.

The F4 appearsbut seldom as a tonic, and it is much betterto
have the F in tune, since it is the keynoteof a tonalitynot only
much used, but one of the most beautiful on the flute. F#,
when it appears,could easilybe temperedby the embouchure;
but as it stands, F naturalremains a bad note.25
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1785-7
John Hind Chesnut (pp.263-71)has pointed out that from a close look at Thomas Attwood'snotes on his studies
with W. A. Mozartin 1785-7,it is clearthat Mozart'snormal concept of instrumenttuning distinguishesthe small
and largehalf steps of a mean-tone temperamentsimilaror identicalto /6-comma.The usual discrepancybetween
keyboardand other instrumentsexists.
AlessandroBarca,'Introduzionea una nuova teoria di musica, memoria prima' Accademiadi scienze,
lettereed arti in Padova:Saggiscientificie lettari(Padua,1786),pp.365-418.Cited in Barbour,Tuningand
Temperament,
P.43
Barcawrote that to make the 5ths '/6-commasmallerthan pure was the
1783
... temperamentoper comune opinione perfettissimo,quale

suole applicarsialle quinte diatoniche ..."6
1788
Tiberius Cavallo, 'Of the Temperament of those Musical instruments, in which the Tones, Keys, or Frets,
are Fixed, as in the Harpsichord, Organ, Guitar, &c, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
London, lxxviii, p.238
When the harpsichord,organ &c is to serve for solo playing,

and for a particularsort of music, it is proper to tune in the
usual manner . . .but . . .when the instrumentis to servefor
accompanying other instruments or human voices, and
c.1790
... temperamentconsideredgenerallyas perfect,althoughit is

usuallyapplied [only] to the diatonic 5ths ...
especially when modulations and transpositions are to be

practiced,then it must be tuned accordingto the temperament
of equal harmony.7
John Robison, 'Temperament', Encyclopaedia Britannica (Edinburgh, 3/1801)
[Playersof instrumentswith flexibletuning] when unembarrassedby the harpsichord... [should not temper their scales]but
keep it as perfectas possible throughout;and a violin performeris sensible of violence and constraintwhen he accompaniesa
keyed instrumentinto these unfrequentedpaths.
Thomas Busby, Universal Dictionary of Music (London, 4th edn)
1813
As late as 1813,Busby discusses major and minor semitones, and states that temperament is applied:
in orderto remedy,in some degree,the false intervalsof those instruments,the sounds of which are fixed;as the organ,harpsichord, pianoforte,&c.
380
EARLY MUSIC
AUGUST
1991

'Quoted in Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',p.263

2Quotedin Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',p.244
3It is interesting to compare this with Rameau's diametrically
opposed laterstatementon the same subject.See Rameau(1737),p.lo4.
4Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',pp. 245-6 thinks Rameauis
probablydiscussing 'A-commamean-tone here.
'Quoted in Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',p.245
6Quotedin Lindley,'Stimmungund Temperatur',p.246
7Michel Blavet (1700-1768) performed at the Concert Spirituel
more frequently than any other performer, and was unanimously
praisedfor his tone, intonation and technique.See N. Zaslaw,'Blavet,
Michel',New Grove.
8Telemann'ssystem is discussed in Sorge (1748) and (1758). In
(1758), pp.2-5, Sorge equates Quantz's temperament with that
describedby Scheibe and Telemann,and discussesthe 'Comma telemann' which Telemannhimself says is half that of 'mean-tone'.(As
noted above, in '/-comma mean-tone-'mean-tone' in its strictest
sense-the differencebetween flats and sharps is indeed about twice
that in the 55-partoctave.)
'Translationby Carlo Novi
',o.S. Bach'ssurvivingcantatasdo not bearout this observation.Cf.
Neumann.
1The temperamentis shown in Lindley,'Stimmung und Temperatur',p.273 (2ob).
"Translatedin Barbour,Tuningand Temperament,
p.196
'3Cf.Telemann'sown statement:'my systemis not basedon anykeyboard temperament..
.
'4TheFrenchversion of the Essaiis not, properlyspeaking,a translation. It appearedsimultaneouslywith the Germanversion and was
preparedfor the benefit of Quantz'spatron, Frederickof Prussia,who
had difficultyreadingand speakingGerman.See N. Mitford,Frederick
the Great(London, 1970/R1984),pp.20, 205. G. A. Sorge, in 'Anmerkungen tiber Herr Quanzens ... #D und bE-Klappeauf der Querfl6te',equates Quantz'stemperamentwith that advocatedby Scheibe
and Telemann.
15Quantz's invention was welcomed by Castillon and other writers
on the flute of this period. See E. R. Reilly,'Quantz and his Versuch;
Three Studies'(New York,1971),PP.55,91, citing J. S. Petri,Anleitung
zur practischenMusik (Lauban, 1767/82)and J. G. Tromlitz, AusfiihrlicherundgriindlicherUnterrichtdie Flite zu spielen(Leipzig,1791).
'6SeeCastillon (1777).
'7Thisis presumablyon account of the stringed instruments with
which the flute is playing,whose basic pitch is entirelyunfixed. Sorge
(1758),P.9 saysthat it is assumedthat the flautisttunes his instrument
to the tonic of the piece he is playing.
18Thissentence appearsin the Germanversion only.
'9Cf.Lindley,'Tartini-Schtiler'on M. Stratico,a student of Tartini.
20'It can be shown that for whicheverof the standardcommas we
choose, the perfectfifthsin LeopoldMozart'ssystemweretheoretically
flattedby about one-sixth of that comma.'Chesnut, 'Mozart'sTeaching of Intonation',p.26o.
2'See Chesnut, 'Mozart'sTeachingof Intonation' p.26o.
2Reprinted in GeorgPhilippTelemann:Singenist dasfundamentzur
Musikin allenDingen,ed. W. Rackwitz(Leipzig,1985),pp.266-73.This
is a continuation of Telemann'sSystemof
1742/3.
23Cf.Quantz (1752)
'4E. Halfpenny, 'A French Commentary on Quantz',ML, xxxvii
(1956),pp.61-6 contains a complete Englishtranslation.

25Translation
from Halfpenny,'A FrenchCommentary',pp.65-6
26Chromatic notes may therefore be irregularlyplaced in Barca's
system.
27Itis not clearwhether'equalharmony'= 'equaltemperament'or 'a
regular
temperament'.
"'o
Wt
..Ox.
ARO
.~'
_02WNi
oil
,X1i~~i'i~
MON~~:j
WINNERS
\MNs
- ------ -----
qx::
ROESSLER
FINE RECORDERS& OTHER
HISTORICALWOODWINDS
HEINZ ROSSLER - FLOTENBAU
P O. BOX 1648, D-2240 HEIDE
WEST GERMANY
EARLY MUSIC

AUGUST
1991
381

B. Haynes Beyond Temperament

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

B. Haynes Beyond Temperament

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Beyond Temperament: Non-Keyboard Intonation in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Author(s): Bruce Haynes

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

rather, middle of the 15th century in response to the need for

'Temperaments'are closed systems designed to help

Historic expedients to the tuning problem

What led me to add another key not previouslyused on the

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

The musical amateurs(1755). Oil painting by Julius Quinkhard(Amsterdam,Rijksmuseum)

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

chord or organmightbe tuned differentlythan the other

comma higherthan sharps.This saysnothing about the

'Merelytempered'is the key phrasehere. If we use both

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

basic scale of the tonic, subdominant, and dominant

musicians were so unconscious of alternativesto a

ments accordingto theirabilityto altertheir intonation:

A numberof woodwind fingeringchartsfrom the end

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

double holes on the oboe and recorderhas an obvious

Although a regular temperament might have been

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

Bdthizeyconsideredit self-evidentthat (exceptfor unison notes and finaltonics) singerspurposelyignoredthe

singersand other playerswould thus do betterto adjust

were limited, it was a historic practiceto retune unsplit

even more necessary.Thereis a 'blackbox' on the market

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

then, three sets of enharmonicpairsthat are usually

mean-tone is producedby tuning 11of the 125ths on a

between them is therefore21.817cents, or about as close to a syntonic

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

and minor semitones,?'-commamean-toneis the temperamentthat it

oboe d'amore,for instance (normallya low note), could as easilybe a

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

mightbe expected,the two notesthatseemto havebeencommonly

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

Andreas Werckmeister, Musicalische Temperatur (Frankfurt-on-Main and Leipzig), p.3

Wenn alle Quinten rein gestimmt wuirden/wolteschon eine

I have noticed that the most common mistake of those who

Jean-Pierre Freillon-Poncein, La VWritableManicre d'apprendre ajouer en perfection du haut-bois, de la

Je ne parle point icy de la differencequ'il y a des demy tons

I will not speakhere of the differencethat existsbetweenmajor

1707 JosephSauveur,Mcthodegnedralepourformerles systcmestemperesde musique,et du choixde celui qu'on

Le systemetempere de 55 comma . .. est celui dont les Musiciens ordinairesse servent ..

Bernardle Bovier,sieur de Fontenelle, Sur les sistcmes

On a vi^dans l'Hist. de 1709que M. Sauveurqui a propose un

The55-partoctave... is theoneusedbymusiciansin general

Pier Franceso Tosi, Opinioni de' cantori antichi e moderni,

[See quotation in articleabove.]

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

[Singers need not follow the above tuning system] excepte

[Singersneed not followthe abovetuning system]exceptwhen

Good musiciansknow how to use the differenteffects of the

Johann David Heinichen, Der General-Bass in der Composition (Dresden), pp.83-5

w An. M44 ?Zxwyrk,1e,,A

t/24WDiv a,A ...,v

Abtheilungendes diatonischJohann Georg Neidhart, Giintzlich erschbpftemathematische

This content downloaded from 145.102.112.14 on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:13:05 PM

The eardoesnot slavishlyfollowinstrumental

musicians,narrowthe 5thsslightly,in orderto sweetenthe

To those who believethat the differentimpressionsthey

... thebestmasters[ontheviolin]... as I havebeentoldby