Harpsichord tuning: Well-Tempered Clavier - Bradley Lehman

Keyboard temperament from the title page of Bach's "Das wohltemperirte Clavier" (1722).

The step-by-step explanation here shows how it is derived. Two full-length performances on harpsichord are included: Bach's C major and B major preludes from this book.

Research by Bradley Lehman, 2004, continuing a doctoral project from 1993-4 in "modified meantone" tuning as applied to Bach's music. The interpretation is based on analysis of Bach's extant keyboard music, plus a historical study of tuning methods, plus (in 2004) the suspiciously irregular drawing on Bach's title page.

This research was first published in an _Early Music_ (Oxford University Press journal) article, February-May 2005. Two printed portions and five web files comprise that article.

The resources are available at http://www.larips.com

See http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/larips/art.html for an article similar to this video demonstration: explaining how the C major and B major scales are blended together to derive all 12 notes of the chromatic scale, and tuned in this manner.

The academic articles are freely downloadable from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/larips/outline.html
and CD recordings are available as well:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/larips/recordings.html

The two recordings heard here are from the CD "Playing From Bach's Fancy":
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/larips/cd1003.html

Enjoy!

Dr Bradley Lehman
http://www.larips.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• johann
• sebastian
• bach
• well
• tempered
• clavier
• harpsichord
• cembalo
• clavecin
• tuning
• temperament
• lehman
• larips
• clavicembalo

[iluvspam6]

I need more information on this "nudge" concept. Does it go to eleven? Ever? Or do you have to adjust your nudge whether it be a European or African nudge? Does it work for banjo?

[thebpl]

@iluvspam6 The banjo has to really want to change.

[delameu]

wasnt the organ in arnstadt tuned to werckmeister temperament..?

[thebpl]

@delameu Do you have hard evidence of any particular temperament on the Arnstadt organ, Werckmeister or otherwise? I have not heard of any.

[thethreeamazingmen]

@TheNuncFluens no...just the tuning isnt 100%

[mattiabp]

i like your cat, dude :D

[TheNuncFluens]

So the way people have been playing it so far is wrong?

[fgbowen]

Awesome.

[cangjie12]

@thebpl Wouldn't it sound more authentic if you also tuned the keyboard to a lower pitch than A=440? (since Bach's A was lower)

[delameu]

@thebpl i dont know thats just what i read from different sources