Comments on The Tone Bigot: Another Buxtehude Cycle

As cathedral organist at the time of the commissio...

2010-10-09T21:28:59.883-05:00

As cathedral organist at the time of the commissioning and installation of the Pasi dual-tempered organ, perhaps I can shed some light: The well-tempered "side" of the Pasi organ is "derived" from 1/4-comma meantone, with the notes C, D, G, and A being common to both sides of the organ. It is a 3rd-based temperament, much like Kirnberger III, but allowing for most of the 19th C. repertoire to be performed convincingly (see Robbe Delcamp's Widor recording, also on Naxos).

It is indeed possible to "mix and match" to some extent. There is quite a bit more information about this organ now on the Pasi website, including my doctoral dissertation:
http://www.pasiorgans.com/conference/harmony.html

Vibrato is (or rather it should be) an ornament. I...

2008-02-25T22:30:00.000-06:00

Vibrato is (or rather it should be) an ornament. I pretty much feel the same way you do about it.

And yeah, what a miracle Naxos is!

2008-02-25T17:00:00.001-06:00

And yeah, what a miracle Naxos is!

Yeah, it's interesting that the whole idea of temp...

2008-02-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

Yeah, it's interesting that the whole idea of temperament flies out the window, as it were, with unaccompanied vocal music. Singers tune to each other. It's only when the pitches are fixed by some mechanical means that the discrepancies come into play.

I think this is one of the reasons that I so dislike vibrato, and the places where it's found: opera, big romantic choruses, string chamber music. (This latter always bugs me--it's as though the players hands are always moving, almost as with palsy, and the wide vibrato is the norm; the steady tone is a device to be employed very sparingly.)

To my ear--and I know there are plenty who disagree with me--the whole concept of precision flies out the window when no one plays a set pitch. Big choirs like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir where everyone sings with vibrato sound hazy and indistinct to me; I can find no musical satisfaction this way.

"Mixing and matching" temperments... that's a very...

2008-02-25T08:23:00.000-06:00

"Mixing and matching" temperments... that's a very interesting idea.

My teacher Edith Borroff used to say that there could never be a true fusion of jazz and classical music because each really employed different tuning systems. But I suspect there's no aesthetic reason why you couldn't try to assimilate temperments.

It's not a new idea. Split keyboards and the use of pedals to access variations of pitch have been part of classical music experiments ever since keyboards were invented.

One of the reasons I enjoy a capella performances of Renaissance choral music is because in that medium you can pretty much employ something like true temperment.

Oh, and all praises be to Naxos, the best record company ever.