Hardcover. W. W. Norton 2006-11-13.
ISBN: 0393062279 / 0-393-06227-9
EAN: 9780393062274
An entertaining tale (Rating 4 of 5)
» Tom Westcott
A book full of intriguing sidelines on tuning issues in the 18th & 19th centuries before equal temperament came to dominate tuning ideas (until the authenticity crowd started to tut a bit). The author is mainly concerned with the vertical tuning of chords, particularly the thirds, and he notices how small equal-tempered semitones weaken links between adjacent chords, but he does not cover the issue of the enharmonic jump in the diatonic scale which has great implications for linear harmonic sequences. He reiterates an old myth that all notes have a harmonic series hidden inside them and that this is what makes harmony fit together. They don't and it doesn't, but this 19th century guess keeps on getting passed on despite being a dead-end.
Technical quibbles aside, you cannot fail to be entertained by the wealth of characters and paradoxical anecdote in this ell-told tale.
(Rating 4 of 5)
