Posted by js on December 31, 2001 at 20:16:17:
In Reply to: Better tuba tuning posted by Klaus on December 31, 2001 at 17:42:34:
I'm sure that I agree that equal temperament would be obnoxious in an ensemble. Think of any loud brass chords with grinding "imperfect" 5ths, the atrocious noise that would be the woodwind chords in equal temperament at the beginning of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde - Prelude", etc., etc., ad infinitum.
Of course, piano (keyboard) tuning is not equal temperament. Rather, it is a "mirage" caused by tuning perfect fifths...nearly "perfectly" and allowing the very lowest AA to be 20 hundredths of a semitone flat and the very highest c(whatever) to be 30 hundredths of a semitone sharp.
I believe that ensemble intonation - at its absolute ideal - is a constantly shifting existance, depending on context.