William Byrd - Miserere 1 & 2

Composed by William Byrd (1540 - 1623)
Played by Davitt Moroney on a Clavichord by Thomas Goff, 1972, after 17th-century German models. Double-strung (4 octaves).

I amplified both recordings by 12dB

Yes, I know the whole photo slide show is cheap :-)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• William
• Byrd
• Davitt
• Moroney
• Clavichord
• classical

[uruziam]

Really beautiful - and such delicate bebung! Thank you for your beautiful playing...

[Trinitrotolaissance]

Thank Davitt Moroney though!

[LazyBastard69]

is it out of tune or does it just sound strange to ears who are used to listen to well tempered tuning?

[Trinitrotolaissance]

the latter.

[FernandRaynaud]

Many things are going on here that people who are adjusted to piano are not used to. Even a pure tuning in a given key will sound out of tune to many people. A pure major 3rd, 4th or 5th are so seldom heard these days they sound "off", but of course they are mathematically indisputably correct. In meantone, as soon as you start modulating, you encounter slightly different intervals. And the clavichord offers "aftertouch" to bend pitch. The combination sounds foreign.

[wcbroccoli]

All keyboards are out of tune, no matter how carefully you tune them and no matter what temperament is used, including the equal temperament used on a modern piano. All keyboard temperaments are a compromise.

Even though our viols have fixed frets, we we can still adjust the pitch to obtain the correct enharmonic while we play.

Keyboard players can't do that.

They are stuck with an approximation

of enharmonics.

[wcbroccoli]

Surely you're not suggesting Moroney didn't properly tune before he recorded this. The reviewers praise the production values of this recording.

You seem to believe this is "well tempered tuning"? That type of tuning wasn't used for about 175 years afer Byrd's death.

What kind of tuning is used here?

We tune our viols to mean tone, yet don't sound out of tune.

[LazyBastard69]

nono it doesn't sound like normal bebung or vibrato. it sounds out of tune.

[wcbroccoli]

The clavichord player bends the pitch of a note by varying the pressure he applies to the key.

Niether mean tone nor "well-tempered" would make such a tonal piece sound "strange" or out of tune.

Mean tone would actually make it sound purer. The advantage of mean tone is purer 3rds, 6ths, 4ths and 5ths. The disadvantage is that certain intervals will sound out of tune in remote keys (more than 2 or 3 sharps or flats).

But there are no remote keys in these pieces.

[wcbroccoli]

Unlike in the piano or harpsichord, the tangent of the clavichord remains in contact with string as long as the key is held. Thus, the volume of the note can be changed by striking harder or softer, AND the PITCH can also be VARIED by varying the pressure on the key, producing an effect called Bebung.

The player can produce effects such as tremolo or vibrato. That's what you're hearing.

It has nothing to do with the temperament or being out of tune.