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Meantone Temperaments on Lutes and Viols
by David Dolata
Published by: Indiana University Press
320 Pages, 84 b&w illus., 76 music exx., 42 tables
- eBook
- 9780253021465
- Published: July 2016
$9.99
Other Retailers:
Written for musicians by a musician, Meantone Temperaments on Lutes and Viols demystifies tuning systems by providing the basic information, historical context, and practical advice necessary to easily achieve more satisfying tuning results on fretted instruments. Despite the overwhelming organological evidence that many of the finest lutenists, vihuelists, and viola da gamba players in the Renaissance and Baroque eras tuned their instruments in one of the meantone temperaments, most modern early instrument players today still tune to equal temperament. In this handbook richly supplemented with figures, diagrams, and music examples, historical performers will discover why temperaments are necessary and how they work, descriptions of a variety of temperaments, and their application on fretted instruments. This technical book provides downloadable audio tracks and other tools for fretted instrument players to achieve more stable consonances, colorful dissonances, and harmonic progressions that vividly propel the music forward.
List of Diagrams
List of Tables
List of Audio Files
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: Precedent
Part One Introduction
1. Historical Performance, Thought, and Perspective
2. Surviving Fixed Metal-Fret Instruments
3. Fretting Pattern Iconography
Part One Conclusion
Part Two: Theory
Part Two Introduction
4. Inside the Numbers: How Tuning Systems Work and Why We Need Them
5. Tour through Tuning Systems
Part Two Conclusion
Part Three: Practice
Part Three Introduction
6. Physical and Environmental Factors
7. The Zen of Tuning
8. Continuo
9. Viols
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Cleartune
Appendix 2: Equal Temperament Offset Charts
Notes
Bibliography
Index
David Dolata is Professor of Musicology at Florida International University and professional lutenist, appearing at such venues as the Glimmerglass Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, the Northwest Bach Festival, the Miami Bach Society, and on broadcasts and recordings for NPR, CBS, and BBC.
"While Dolata's book is aimed primarily at lutenists and gambists, the wealth of information he provides is of potential value to performers and scholars outside this limited circle. In particular, those who perform with—or conduct—lutenists and gambists can profit from learning what is involved in setting up fretted instruments in unequal systems."
~Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music
"[This book] handles a difficult subject with clarity and vigor, and I imagine it will find a welcome place on the bookshelf of the serious student interested in exploring the unique soundscape attainable only through meantone temperament."
~Notes
"There is a wealth of knowledge here for more advanced performers and those with an interest in historical temperaments."
~Music Reference Services Quarterly
"This is an excellent, well-written book. There is a wealth of information about how players of fretted instruments found different solutions to the problems of tuning; the section on the theory of temperaments is a good read in spite of the dryness of its subject matter; and there is much good practical advice to help us improve our playing by getting our instruments well in tune."
~The Viola da Gamba Society Journal
"This book is well written in a friendly style, and it fulfills its tutorial intention very well."
~The Consort
"This book is welcome, aiming as it does to combine the historical, theoretical, and practical aspects of this sometimes vexed and controversial topic in a lively and approachable manner."
~Richard Carter, Oriana Music: Early Music Editions, co-owner
"This book will go a long way towards destroying the myths of many well-intentioned, but ill-informed scholars and performers."
~Paul O'Dette, world-renowned lutenist and Director of Early Music at Eastman School of Music
"This is a most stimulating book and one which every serious lutenist should read and understand. While Dolata may not persuade us that all or even most professional lutenists used meantone he makes a strong case that some did, and that equal temperament, while understood and widely used, was avoided by the most fastidious. He gives the reader the means to understand the issues and lots of practical advice on going beyond equal temperament towards better sound."
~The Lute
Companion audio files for the book:
- Audio File 4.1. Pure Major Third C-E (386c.) [treble viol].
- Audio File 4.2. 1/6-comma Meantone Temperament Major Third C-E (393c.) [treble viol].
- Audio File 4.3. Equal Temperament Major Third C-E (400c.) [treble viol].
- Audio File 4.4. Pythagorean Major Third C-E (408c.) [treble viol].
- Audio File 4.5.1. Pure Perfect Fifth between C (262 Hz) and G (393 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.5.2. Pure Perfect Fifth between C (524 Hz) and G (786 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.6.1. ET Fifth between C (262 Hz) and G (391.7 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.6.2. ET Fifth between C (524 Hz) and G (783.4 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.7.1. Pure Major Third between C (262 Hz) and E (327.5 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.7.2. Pure Major Third between C (524 Hz) and E (655 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.8.1. ET Major Third between C (262 Hz) and E (330.2 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.8.2. ET Major Third between C (524 Hz) and E (660.4 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.9.1. Pythagorean Comma between C (262 Hz) and B-sharp (265.6 Hz) Played Melodically [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.9.2. Pythagorean Comma between C (524 Hz) and B-sharp (531.2 Hz) Played Melodically [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.10.1. Pythagorean Comma between C (262 Hz) and B-sharp (265.6 Hz) Played Harmonically [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.10.2. Pythagorean Comma between C (524 Hz) and B-sharp (531.2 Hz) Played Harmonically [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.11.1. Pythagorean Major Third between C (262 Hz) and E (331.6 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.11.2. Pythagorean Major Third between C (524 Hz) and E (663.2 Hz) [MaxMSP].
- Audio File 4.12. The Syntonic Comma between the First and Sixth Courses [lute].
- Audio File 5.1. Equal Temperament Triad [lute].
- Audio File 5.2. 1/4-comma Meantone Triad [lute].
- Audio File 5.3. V-I Cadence in G Major in 1/4-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.4. I-IV-V-I Progression in E-flat Major in 1/4-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.5. i-iv-V-I Progression in G Minor in 1/4-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.6. I-IV-V-I Progression in E-flat Major in 1/5-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.7. i-iv-V-I Progression in G Minor in 1/5-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.8. I-IV-V-I Progression in E-flat Major in1/6-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.9. i-iv-V-I Progression in G Minor in 1/6-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.10. I-IV-V-I Progression in E-flat Major in 1/8-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.11. i-iv-V-I Progression in G Minor in 1/8-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 5.12. B Major Chord in Vallotti Temperament [harpsichord].
- Audio File 5.13. E Major Chord in Vallotti Temperament [harpsichord].
- Audio File 7.1. John Dowland, "Tarleton's Riserrectione" in 1/4-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 7.2. John Dowland, "Tarleton's Riserrectione" in 1/6-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 7.3. John Dowland, "Tarleton's Riserrectione" in 1/8-comma Meantone Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 7.4. John Dowland, "Tarleton's Riserrectione" in Equal Temperament [lute].
- Audio File 7.5. Denis Gaultier, "La Coquette virtuosa" in 1/5-comma Meantone Temperament [baroque lute].
- Audio File 7.6. Girolamo Giovanni Kapsberger, "Toccata Arpeggiata" in 1/6-comma Meantone Temperament [theorbo].
Acoustic audio files were performed by David Dolata, and artificially generated files were created by Federico Bonacossa. The audio files were recorded at the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center Concert Hall at the Florida International University School of Music in Miami, Florida using the following instruments: 8-c. Renaissance lute after V. Venere I (Padova 1592) by Paolo Busato 13-c. Baroque lute after M.Dieffopruchar/J.J.Edlinger by Paolo Busato 14-c. Theorbo after M.Tieffenbrucker by Paolo Busato Treble viol by the Charlie Ogle Workshop Double manual Flemish harpsichord by Carl Fudge.