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The 48, the 24 and other series of compositions exploring key colour

Started by David Pinnegar, December 02, 2010, 06:23:06 PM

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David Pinnegar

Hi!

In listening further to the recordings of the Chopin 24 preludes, I have annotated below the key of each prelude and the effect that might have been expected with early 19th century tuning . . .

Would anyone like to do a performance of the Bach 48 at Hammerwood on either piano or harpsichord on possibly a stronger temperament?

Do people feel that the recordings of the preludes demonstrate the expected key colour results?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdsFLIo9l88
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A34K-fj5nHs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqrynlohR4

As one goes through the keys
http://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html or
->From http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/earlym-l/logfiles/em.2001-03
->Key or mode descriptions from Charpentier's Regles de Composition ca. 1682 (in some cases, although discrepancies and missing keys demonstrate the advance of 18th century well temperament over Meantone standard to Charpentier)
could even be the programme notes:
   1. Agitato ­ C major
Completely Pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naivety, children's talk.
->gay and warlike
   2. Lento ­ A minor
Pious womanliness and tenderness of character.
->tender and plaintive
   3. Vivace ­ G major
Everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical, every calm and satisfied passion, every tender gratitude for true friendship and faithful love,--in a word every gentle and peaceful emotion of the heart is correctly expressed by this key.
->serious and magnificent
   4. Largo ­ E minor
Naive, womanly innocent declaration of love, lament without grumbling; sighs accompanied by few tears; this key speaks of the imminent hope of resolving in the pure happiness of C major.
->effeminate, amorous, plaintive
   5. Molto allegro ­ D major
The key of triumph, of Hallejuahs, of war-cries, of victory-rejoicing. Thus, the inviting symphonies, the marches, holiday songs and heaven-rejoicing choruses are set in this key.
->joyous and very warlike
   6. Lento assai ­ B minor
This is as it were the key of patience, of calm awaiting ones's fate and of submission to divine dispensation.
->solitary and melancholic
   7. Andantino ­ A major
This key includes declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one's state of affairs; hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God.
->joyful and pastoral
   8. Molto agitato ­ F-sharp minor
A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language
   9. Largo ­ E major
Noisy shouts of joy, laughing pleasure and not yet complete, full delight lies in E Major.
->quarrelsome and boisterous
  10. Molto allegro ­ C-sharp minor
Penitential lamentation, intimate conversation with God, the friend and help-meet of life; sighs of disappointed friendship and love lie in its radius.
  11. Vivace ­ B major
Strongly coloured, announcing wild passions, composed from the most glaring coulors. Anger, rage, jealousy, fury, despair and every burden of the heart lies in its sphere.
->harsh and plaintive
  12. Presto ­ G-sharp minor
(A flat minor . . . ?) Grumbler, heart squeezed until it suffocates; wailing lament, difficult struggle; in a word, the color of this key is everything struggling with difficulty.
  13. Lento ­ F-sharp major
A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language.
  14. Allegro ­ E-flat minor
(D sharp minor . . . . ?) Feelings of the anxiety of the soul's deepest distress, of brooding despair, of blackest depresssion, of the most gloomy condition of the soul. Every fear, every hesitation of the shuddering heart, breathes out of horrible D# minor. If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key
  15. Sostenuto ­ D-flat major ("Raindrop Prelude")
A leering key, degenerating into grief and rapture. It cannot laugh, but it can smile; it cannot howl, but it can at least grimace its crying.--Consequently only unusual characters and feelings can be brought out in this key.
  16. Presto con fuoco ­ B-flat minor
A quaint creature, often dressed in the garment of night. It is somewhat surly and very seldom takes on a pleasant countenance. Mocking God and the world; discontented with itself and with everything; preparation for suicide sounds in this key.
->obscure and terrible
  17. Allegretto ­ A-flat major
Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.
  18. Molto allegro ­ F minor
Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave.
->obscure and plaintive
  19. Vivace ­ E-flat major
The key of love, of devotion, of intimate conversation with God.
->cruel and hard
  20. Largo ­ C minor
Declaration of love and at the same time the lament of unhappy love. All languishing, longing, sighing of the love-sick soul lies in this key.
->obscure and sad
  21. Cantabile ­ B-flat major
Cheerful love, clear conscience, hope aspiration for a better world.
->magnificent and joyful
  22. Molto agitato ­ G minor
Discontent, uneasiness, worry about a failed scheme; bad-tempered gnashing of teeth; in a word: resentment and dislike.
->serious and magnificent
  23. Moderato ­ F major
Complaisance & Calm.
->furious and quick-tempered subjects
  24. Allegro appassionato ­ D minor
Melancholy womanliness, the spleen and humours brood.
->serious and pious

Best wishes

David P

David Pinnegar

Hi!

I'm very interested, in due course, of exploring key colour and the effect of temperament upon its effects in limiting potential repertoire for the organ with the intention of enabling people to specify an unequal temperament for the instrument when commissioning new pipe organs . . . or rebuilding or remodelling existing instruments. (I say the latter, however, with appropriate caution.) I hope that one day, perhaps, an adventurous organist might be happy to work with me in such experiments, do some recordings and videos for YouTube in the spirit and cause of encouraging others to explore and to experiment . . . but above all to reignite with vigour interest in the instrument and in classical music in particular. With the collapse of music teaching in state schools, and perhaps more generally, we really do have to redouble our efforts to encourage desires in the young.

For some years I have been doing this with the piano, as is probably apparent from the thread above and others on this forum, and unexpectedly this work has grabbed the attention of professional piano technicians - http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1599324/1.html

So it's having an effect in possibly changing the way in which people will be thinking in years to come about the tuning of pianos. A spin-off of this also is the wonderful comments that are being made in particular about one of the pianists who has been working with me in doing concerts and making unequal tempered recordings . . .

QuoteI have found two CDs with [Musician] playing Chopin, but I understand these are in equal temperament. I have listened to Raindrop Preludium, and that is awesome. Chopins 2nd sonata even goes beyond that (the unequal version). It sounds so much better than the equal version that I will have to wait for the unequal version.
Equal temperament should be fine for anything later than Lizt, but I will probably never again listen to anything earlier in equal temperament. I have been familiar with music played in unequal temperament for thirty years, but Chopin is new to me, and so is [Musician].

Edit: I have made a mistake here. The Post I have commented on is at the bottom of page one. But anyway, the important point is Barabino playing Chopin in unequal temperament on CD. . . .

. . . . what is already available with [Musician] will keep me occupied for a long time. Especially the 2nd sonata.

This bodes well in due course perhaps for a commercial CD, so the spin-off from doing such experiments and making YouTube recordings can be significantly good.

On page 4 of that forum thread, we are trying to examine whether Chopin was in any way circumventing intervals that in a Good Temperament can be less than good . . . and if anyone has any musicolgical perspectives on this it really would be great to try to explore this further, here or there.

The 19th century is a time of change and a time of great confusion thereby in the realm of temperaments and what a tuning was intended to do.

Best wishes

David P

revtonynewnham

Hi

Good news.  I'm personally not convinced that unequal temperaments are the universal answer, but they certainly have a lot to offer.  I'm no musicologist, but I find it interesting in the Bach 48 that the "remoter" keys seem subjectively to have rather more accidentals than the others - maybe that's an attempt to avoid some of the worst intervals.

In practice, i doubt that many "real" musical instruments are truly in equal temperament anyway, unless tuned solely by reference to a mechanical tuning aid - and I've not come across a professional tuner in the UK that uses such things - just amateurs like me!  Maybe that would make an interesting research project.  certainly, most instruments that I play - even though in ET - have some sort of key colour - although I suspect some of that is down to the difference in pitch between different keys - another possible area for research.

Anyway, keep up the good work - and hopefully, a CD (or more) will emerge in due course.

every Blessing

Tony