ckk@cmu-cs-g.ARPA (Chris Koenigsberg) (07/14/85)
J.S. Bach did NOT use equal temperament, according to most eminent
musicologists today. He used its predecessor, known as "1/6th
comma meantone temperament" which was still an improvement over the unequal
tunings used on earlier keyboards. The whole point of his
"Well tempered Klavier" was NOT that every key was equally in tune.
If you study the pieces, you'll notice that the ones in keys with
few sharps and flats go through the most radical modulations,
while the pieces in farout keys stay pretty close to the major
and minor arpeggios. This is because those farout keys sounded
"out of tune" in the temperament he was using, and his genius
was to exploit the particualr in- and out-of-tunedness particular
to each individual key.
J.S.Bach's irreplaceable contribution to Western music was his
de facto establishment of the rules of "common practice" harmony,
i.e. no parallel fifths, no voice crossings, etc., that are still
taught today in harmony classes.
Chris Koenigsberg
ckk@cmu-cs-g.ARPA
{harvard,seismo,topaz,ucbvax}!cmu-cs-g!ckk
(412)578-8526 office, (412)362-6422 home
Center for Design of Educational Computing
Carnegie-Mellon U.
Pgh, Pa. 15213nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (07/16/85)
> From: ckk@cmu-cs-g.ARPA (Chris Koenigsberg) > This is because those farout keys sounded "out of tune" in the > temperament he was using, and his genius was to exploit the particualr > in- and out-of-tunedness particular to each individual key. So, where can I get recordings of Bach's music played in the proper temperament? I would think that it would make a big difference! > J.S.Bach's irreplaceable contribution to Western music was his de > facto establishment of the rules of "common practice" harmony, i.e. no > parallel fifths, no voice crossings, etc., that are still taught today > in harmony classes. And which some of my favorite musicians blithely ignore! Of course, it's probably a good thing that someone established these silly rules, because if someone didn't, then it would be impossible to break them. "My notion was that you had been (Before she had this fit) An obstacle that came between Him, ourselves, and it" Doug Alan nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)
ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (07/16/85)
> So, where can I get recordings of Bach's music played in the proper > temperament? I would think that it would make a big difference! You might start with Christopher Hogwood's recording of Bach's French Suites, Oiseau-Lyre 411 811-1. While no one is certain what tunings Bach actually used, these performances use six different temperaments that were common in Bach's time. I find the difference in sound immediately obvious; some of my friends can't hear it at all.
jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) (07/19/85)
>> J.S.Bach's irreplaceable contribution to Western music was his de >> facto establishment of the rules of "common practice" harmony, i.e. no >> parallel fifths, no voice crossings, etc., that are still taught today >> in harmony classes. > >And which some of my favorite musicians blithely ignore! Of course, >it's probably a good thing that someone established these silly rules, >because if someone didn't, then it would be impossible to break them. Aha! Time to puncture some hoary old myths, I see! First, Bach did not establish, de facto or any other way, the "rules" which you describe. They were already well established by Corelli's time (that is, about the time Bach was born). Second, those rules would not be an irreplaceable contribution to any music. They are simply a description of the typical practice at a certain period in history, although they arose for a very good reason (see below). Finally, far too much is made of these "rules", and far too much heroism is invested in those who "break" them. It's just not that big a deal (except in harmony classes. I once irritated a professor in the extreme when I pointed out a parallel fifth in a Bach organ prelude). Sort of like calling someone a freedom fighter because they trampled a "keep off the grass" sign. Western composers have always (would you believe for the last 900 years?) been interested in polyphony - the sound of several independent voices together. In fact, to my mind, this is the disguishing mark of Western music. The key word here is independence. If voices move in parallel octaves or fifths, the upper voice may be lost in the overtones of the lower, and the independence of the upper voice will be compromised. The "rules" simply point out a set of pitfalls, like this one, which composers of earlier generations found made their music sound in a way they didn't want it to sound. In many pieces written after these pitfalls became generally recognized, one still finds parallelisms, especially in complex or ornate textures. This doesn't mean the composer is some kind of rebel hero for "breaking the rules", it simply means that the composer recognized that the musical context was such that the parallelisms sound just fine. And, naturally, if a composer isn't particularly interested in having independent voices, then all of these "rules" will likely go out the window and good riddance! Of course, it's hard to keep sight of all this when you get your graded and damned harmony or counterpoint homework back. Jeff Winslow