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From: dc@presto.ruhr.de (David Channing)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: Transposing early music (was: Perfect Pitch)
Message-ID: <2204517@presto.ruhr.de>
Date: 22 Mar 91 14:36:06 GMT
References: <3722@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> <1991Mar20.154120.24561@eng.umd.edu> <31234@usc> <18799@milton.u.washington.edu>
Lines: 24

In article <18799@milton.u.washington.edu> allyn@milton.u.washington.edu
(Allyn Weaks) writes:
> 
> alves@calvin.usc.edu (William Alves) writes:
> >The theory that standard pitch has shifted slowly upward over the years is
> >an oft-repeated myth. There was no standard pitch in Handel's time, nor
> ...
> renaissance, pitch was nearly as standardized as it is today.  Everyone says,
> 'oh yes, 440 is standard modern pitch', but in reality, orchestras will play
> anywhere from 435 to 445.  Some orchestras like a darker sound, some a

Here in Europe even 440 is considered to be very low. Almost all classical
orchestras in Germany nominally play at 443 or 444. European-made woodwind 
instruments (I don't know about non-woodwinds) are generally designed for 442
or 443, so the intonation is still tolerable when they are tuned to 440 or 445.

> brighter.  Or maybe the oboist is having trouble with hir reed, so everyone
> else has to compensate :-)

Most of the oboe players I know check their pitch with a tuning meter before 
passing it on to the rest of the orchestra.
--
dc@presto.ruhr.sub.org
dc@presto.ruhr.de