Viscount Jubilate 230 Bedienungsanleitung Seite 20

In the «natural» tuning system, based on the acoustic phenomenon of harmonic sounds, two important
musical intervals cannot co-exist in their «pure» state (i.e. without conflict): these are the major third and the
perfect fifth. Therefore, over the centuries numerous compromises have been proposed which are called
TEMPERAMENTS.
Each of these privileges either this or that interval, modifying them accordingly.
In ancient times and in the middle ages, right up to the last part of the XV century, the «Pythagorean» system
of tuning was used, in which the fifths were left absolutely perfect. The resulting major third was therefore
particularly unpleasant and therefore came to be considered dissonant. Music of those times was however
prevalently monophonic and the first polyphonic vocal and instrumental forms used mainly intervals of a fifth.
With the coming of the Renaissance and the beginning of florid vocal polyphonic works, the major third
gradually became heard as consonant. Instruments with fixed tunings, such as the organ and harpsichord,
were adapted to this situation by adopting a system of tuning known as «mesotonic» which favoured the
major third rather than the fifth.
This temperament constitutes an important development as it was then to be used normally throughout
Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries, right up to the beginning of the 1700's.
Here then are the six temperaments available on Jubilate, first and foremost the «mesotonic» or MEANTONE.
MEANTONE
8 pure major thirds: Eb - G/Bb-D/F-A/C-E/G-B/D-F#/A-C#/E-G.
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4 unusable major thirds (diminished fourths): B-D#/F#-A#/C#-E#/Ab-C.
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1 fifth, the so-called «wolf» (augmented fifth, strongly dissonant): G#-Eb.
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Very irregular chromatic scale (consequently chromatic compositions have an extremely singular char-
-
acter).
Keys used with this temperament: C major/D major/G major/A major/Bb major/ and their relative minors.
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The temperaments which follow instead allow the use of all major and minor keys, even those with several
accidentals, contrary to what happens with our normal equal temperament, are all very distinctive indeed.
WERCKMEISTER
This temperament, devised by organist and musical theoretician Andreas Werckmeister, is suitable for per-
formance of the German musical repertoire up to the end of the 1600's.
KIRNBERGER
The temperament devised by Johann Philipp Kirnberger, a pupil of J.S. Bach, is equally suited to perform-
ance of works by Bach and German baroque composers in general.
VALLOTTI
This Italian temperament by FrancescoAntonio Vallotti was later taken up in England by Thomas Young. It
can be used with effect for 17th century Italian repertoire, but serves equally well for English music of the
same period.
PYTHAGOREAN
This temperament, in which the fifths were kept absolutely perfect, originates in the period between the
middle ages to 1400, and so may be used for compositions from that period.
viscount Jubilate 230-232-235-245
A BRIEF NOTE ON TEMPERAMENTS
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