Choice Of Temperament; Equal Temperament; Werckmeister Iii Temperament; Meantone Temperament - Johannus Opus 5 User Manual

Choice of temperament

The temperament is the way the different notes within an octave are tuned. This has been
changed through the ages, depending on taste, different instruments and new instruments.
On this JOHANNUS organ you may choose from 3 different temperaments:

! Equal temperament

! Werckmeister III temperament

! Meantone temperament

Equal temperament
Today the most widely used and accepted temperament is the "equal temperament". This is a
tuning where all 12 quints have been undertuned and all tierces have been overtuned to keep
the octave pure. Equal temperament is standard on the Johannus organ. In addition you have
a choice out of a Romantic voicing and a Baroque voicing. On an instrument with Equal
temperament you may play in any key.
Werckmeister III temperament
Andreas Werckmeister introduced his tuning approximately in 1691 in Germany. Within this
temperament the often used tierces are more or less pure tuned. Every key has his own specific
character. This effect has been used extensively in the baroque age and even after that. Johann
Mattheson writes in 1713 that e.g. f-flat is used to express a resigned, deep and desperate
agony. According to him C major is impertinent, but not unsuitable to also express feelings of
joy. This temperament is recommended with "intonation 2".
Meantone temperament
In Meantone the often used tierces are tuned pure. E.g. c-e, d-f#, etc. Because the tierces in
chords with quints and tierces are determining the purity of a chord we experience these pure
chords as very restful. Playing a chromatic scale it appears there are clear differences between
the half steps. It is impossible to play pure sounding chords on the a#, f#, g# and b in a
Meantone temperament.
This Meantone temperament was in use until appr. 1650. Music from this period of time is based
on this temperament. Because all the half steps the chromatical parts of the music sounds
violent. This possibility has often been used to create special feelings among the listeners. The
more false the chords, the deeper the emotion.
From the period of time of appr. 1550-1650 there are many examples where also the less pure
chords have been used for expressive purposes. Composers that lived and worked then were
e.g. Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621).
In fact this music needs a Meantone temperament to give it an extra dimension. In our modern
equal temperament this music sounds accentless and the true dimension gets lost. This
Meantime temperament sounds best with the "intonation 2" switched on.
User's Manual
JOHANNUS JOHANNUS
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Opus 5, 10, 20 and 30 AGO