Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries--Part II

Author(s): Arthur Mendel

Source: The Musical Quarterly , Apr., 1948, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr., 1948), pp. 199-221
Published by: Oxford University Press

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/739305

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The Musical Quarterly
 PITCH IN THE I6th AND EARLY

I7th CENTURIES-PART II
By ARTHUR MENDEL

RAETORIUS in his Syntagma Musicum, Tomus Secundus, De

Organographia, Wolfenbiittel, 161938, has a good deal to say about
pitch. It will again, as with Schlick, be easier to understand his
meaning if his remarks are presented in an order different from his
own, starting at the point where we left off with Schlick-the range
of tenor and bass voices.

Praetorius gives a table of the ranges of the voices and instru-

ments in which bass and tenor appear (p. 20) as follows:

Tenor ?- A-
to
to
u, _ - to _
_ ,w o

It seems at first as if the extreme low notes of the bass must result
from some confusion. But Praetoi rius is explicit on this point. He
explains (p. 19) that:

in diesem gantzen Werck durch und

throughout this work39 the ranges of
durch nicht nach dem Chor-Thon, son- instruments and voices are reckoned
dern nach dem Cammerthon (wiees, and distributed not according to choir
als vor erwehnet, von etlichen gar wol pitch but according to chamber pitch
und recht unterschieden) die Instru- (as these pitches are correctly and prop-
menta und Stimmen gerechnet und aus- erly distinguished by some persons in
getheilet werden. the way previously mentioned).

38
38 The
The New
NewYork
YorkPublic
Public
Library
Library
copy
copy
of the
of the
original
original
printprint
bears bears
this date
thisondate
its on its
title page, and on folio 4v the device "Die fVrCht Des Herren Ist Der VVelshelt
anfang (500+1+5+ oo+500r-1+-500+5+5+1+1=1619); but on folio 12V it bears
the dates 1618, 1619, 1620, and 1623, so it presumably belongs to a later printing. The
facsimile (Kassel, 1929) reproduces this same edition.

39There seems no reason to think that "in diesem gantzen Werck durch und durch"
does not mean "throughout this work" rather than "throughout this table" as Ellis says.
Praetorius refers to chamber pitch more than once again. Doubtless he fails to main-
tain the consistency he aims at. But at this point even the meaning "throughout this
table" would suffice for the argument.
199

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 200 The Musical Quarterly

And he has previously explained (p. 17) that in this chamber pitch

diss C ist die rechte Tieffe eines rechten this "C" is really the lowest note of
Bassisten in Firstlichen Capellen, wenna good bass voice in princely choirs, if
er dasselbe mit voller und gantzer he can produce it naturally with a full,
Stimme natiirlich haben kan. Etliche complete tone. Some can go lower
konnen noch tieffer (doch etwas (though un- somewhat imperceptibly) to
vernemblich) bis ins AA und GG."A1" Tie-or "G1", but not lower than that.
ffer aber nicht descendiren. Wiewol sich Although they often try to strain and
dieselbige offtmals zwingen wollen dasachieve the "F1", but this is a quite
F zu assequiren, ist aber ein gantz un-imperfect tone or sound.
vollnkommener Laut und Thon.
Doch sollen vor der zeit zu Miinchen
Yet at the Court of His Serene High-
am Fiirstlichen Durchleuchtigkeit zuat Munich, at the time of the
ness
Bayrn Hoff, zu des fiirtreffiichen great and famous Orlando di Lasso
weitberiimbten Musici, Orlandi de Las- .. among others three basses, two
so zeiten . . ., unter andern drey Bas-
brothers named Fischer and a peasant's
sisten, zwene Briider die Fischer und son named Grasser, are said to have
eines Bawren Sohn, Grasser genand,been able to reach... the 13-foot "Ebb"
gewesen seyn, welche . . . das Es vonof chamber pitch, with a good strong
13 Fussen gar stark und mit volliger and full tone, but at the top could not
Stim erreichen, in der Hoh aber nicht go above "f", "g", or "a". And in Rome
weiter als biss ins f, g oder a kommen one was found, too, named Caesaron,
konnen. Wie dann auch einer zu Rom, with the same range and volume. At the
mit Namen Caesaron, mit dergleichen top most basses can reach "cl" and "dl"
Stimm und starcke gefunden worden. or even "fl" (which a certain Neapoli-
In der Hohe k6nnen die meisten Bas-
tan monk, Carolus Cassanus, among
others,
.sisten das c und d ja auch wol das f who served at various electoral
and princely courts in Germany, could
(welches, unter andern, ein gewesener
Monachus Neapolitanus Carolus sing
Cas-with a fine, pure, strong voice, as
sanus, der in Deutschland an unter- well as descend to "Gi" chamber pitch).
schiedenen Chur- und Fiirstlichen Ca- But the ordinary basses in schools can
seldom go below 6-foot "F" or "E" with
pellen gedienet, gar rein, starck und mit
voller Stimme, nebenst der Tieffen: G a natural, full tone, and at the top they
Cammer-Thon haben k6nnen) erlangen. cannot go far above "a".
Die gemeine Bassisten aber in Schulen
konnen selten unter das F von 6 Fussen
oder das E in rechter natiirlicher
stircke kommen, und in der Hohe
etliche nicht so gar weit uber das a
ascendiren.

Wie Hoch und Tieff aber ohn gefehrHow high and low a tenor, alto,
ein Tenorist, Altist, Eunuchus oder castrato, or soprano can get with his
Discantist mit seiner Stimme kommen voice will be shown in the following
konne, das wird in nachfolgender table; it is sufficient if a tenor can reach
Tabell angezeigt; Und ist genug, wenn
"e1" and an alto "gl", chamber pitch;
ein Tenorist das e, ein Altist das g if he can go higher, it is all the better,
im Cammer-Thon haben kan: Kan er and all the more to his credit.
hoher kommen, ist es desto besser, und
im vielmehr riimblicher.

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 Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 201

It
Itis is
clear,
clear,
then, that
then,
the extreme
that notes
theinextreme
the bass are given
notes in the bass are given
simply
simply to take
toaccount
takeofaccount
the most exceptional
of thevoices.
most Nowexceptional
the voices. Now the
mean
mean notenote
of whatof
Praetorius
whatcallsPraetorius
the moderate bass
calls range
the("C-bb")
moderate bass range ("C-bb")
is
is"Bk",
"Bk",
and ofand
the "ordinary
of thebasses"ordinary
in schools" ("F-a")
basses is "c#";
in "Bf"
schools" ("F-a") is "c#"; "Bf"
is
isalso
also
the mean
the of mean
the very
of highest
theandvery
lowesthighest
notes Praetorius
and lowest notes Praetorius
mentions
mentions for thefor
bass: the
"F1-f1".
bass:
So we "F1-f1".
may take "ck",
So say,
weas the
maymeantake "ck", say, as the mean
of
of thethe
bass range,
bass compared
range,with compared
Rimsky's e-f,with
Piston'sRimsky's
c#, Hinde- e-f, Piston's c#, Hinde-
mith's
mith's d, and
d,Ellis's
and f, of
Ellis's
which, f,
in turn,
of which,
the mean is in
aboutturn,
eb - the mean is about eb -
which
which wouldwould
indicate that
indicate
this chamber
that pitch
this
of Praetorius's
chamber mustpitch of Praetorius's must
have
have been,
been,
say, about
say,a minor
aboutthirdahigher
minor than our
thirdstandard.
higher
The than our standard. The
mean
mean notenote
of his tenor
of his
rangetenor
is "g-ab",range
which points
is "g-ab",
to approximately
which points to approximately
the same conclusion.40

40 Confirmation of this pitch for Praetorius is furnished by his remarks about the
pitch of trumpets which he says (pp. 32-33) exist in "D", "C", and even "Bb", reckoning
according to his chamber pitch. Now if this pitch was, say, a minor third higher than
ours, we should expect surviving trumpets of this period to be (according to our stand-
ard) in keys from F down to Db. And in fact, Sachs's catalogue of the Sammlung alter
Musikinstrumente bei der Staatlichen Hochschule fiir Musik, Berlin, 1922, lists 14 Ger-
man 17th-century trumpets in this register, ranging from F down to C. Dr. Sachs states
that the standard used for giving these pitches was a1=435, and that he ascertained the
pitch by blowing the instruments himself.
Praetorius also says (p. 232) that he knows of "no better instrument for ascertaining
the proper pitch than a trombone, especially those that were formerly made in Nurem-
berg, and are still made there; for if the slide is drawn out the width of two fingers
from the end, it produces correctly and exactly, in the true choir pitch, the tenor 'a':

,i --

Now the trombone he refers to is clearly the "Gemeine oder rechte Posaun",
depicted in his plate VIII, and this instrument is of about the same size as the present-
day tenor trombone in Bb. To produce a=22o (al=44o) on such'an instrument, the
player must pull the slide out from the closed position some 31/4" to 31/2", so the
tone produced by pulling it out only the width of two fingers (say, l/2") would be
closer to bb than to a. This would make Praetorius's choir pitch nearly a half-tone
higher than a1 = 440, and a whole tone below his chamber pitch; and that is exactly
in accord with what he says about choir pitch-vide infra, and footnote 54.
Ellis analyzes Praetorius's data on voice ranges and decides that the pitch involved
was a little more than a major third higher than ours. It is impossible, from these data
alone, to draw precise and narrow limits. But it may be remarked that Ellis says
"Praetorius makes '8C' an easy note for the Bass". Now this is not quite true; Praetorius
makes it the lowest good note for professional singers in princely choirs, and we must
assume that their lowest tones were lower than those of the average choral singers
whose ranges Ellis measured. Therefore the difference between this chamber pitch of
Praetorius's and today's standard is probably not quite so great as Ellis thought.

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202 The Musical Quarterly

We must now go back to the distinctions Praetorius draws among

the various pitches:
Und
Undist
istanfangs
anfangs
zu wissen,
zu wissen, dass der[p. 14] First
dass der First it
it must
must be
be known
known that
that
Thon
Thonsosowol
wolin in
Orgeln,
Orgeln,
als andern
als andern
pitch in
in organs
organs as
as well
well as
as in
in other
othermusi-
musi-
Instrumentis
Instrumentis Musicis
Musicis
offtofft
sehr sehr
varijre;
varijre;
cal instruments
instruments varies
varies greatly;
greatly; for
forsince
since
dann
dannweil
weil
beybey
denden
Alten
Alten
das concer-
das concer-
in former
former times
times it
it was
was not
not customary
customary
tiren und mit allerhand Instrumenten to play all
all sorts
sorts of
of instruments
instruments together
together
in concerted music, wind instruments
zugleich in einander zu musiciren nicht
gebreuchlich gewesen; sind die blas- were made very different from each
ende Instrumenta von den Instrument- other by the instrument-makers-one
machern sehr unterschiedlich, eins high-pitched, the other low. For the
hoch, das ander niedrig intonirt und higher-pitched an instrument is made,
gemacht worden. Dann je hoher of ein
its own species and type (as in the
Instrumentum in suo modo &r genere, case of zinks, shawms, and discant fid-
als Zincken, Schalmeyen und Discant dles), the fresher and more penetrat-
Geigen intonirt seyn, je frischering
siethey sound; while on the other
lauten und resoniren: Hergegen,hand
je the lower the trombones, bas-
soons, bassanelli, bombardoni, and bass
tieffer die Posaunen, Fagotten, Bassan-
elli, Bombardoni und Bassgeigen ges-fiddles are tuned, the more solid and
majestic is the tone they give forth.
timbt seyn, je gravitetischer und prech-
tiger sie einher prangen. DaheroHence
es it comes that a musician has a
denn einem Musico, wenn die Orgeln,great deal of trouble when organs, posi-
Positieffe, Clavicymbel und andere tives,
bla- harpsichords, and other wind in-
sende Instrumenta nicht zugleichstruments
in are not at the same pitch.
einem und rechten Thon stehen, viel
miuhe machet.

Es ist aber der Chor Thon bey denIn former times, choir pitch was
Alten anfangs umb ein Thon nie- originally one tone lower and deeper
driger und tieffer gewesen, als jtzo, than now, as can be observed in old
welches dann an den alten Orgeln und organs41 and other wind [p. 15] in-
andern blassenden Instrumenten noch struments. And then it was raised, year
zu befinden: Und hernacher von Jah- after year, to the point at which it
ren zu Jahren so weit erhohet worden, now stands in Italy and England, as
als er jtzo in Italia und Engellandt, well as at the princely courts of Ger-
auch in den Fiirstlichen Capellen many. Although English pitch is some-
Deutsches Landes im gebrauch ist. Wie- what, though only a very little, lower,
wol der Englische Thon an Instrumen- which can be observed in their zinks,
ten noch umb etwas, doch ein gar ger- shawms, or hoboys (as they call them)
inges, niedriger ist, welches an ihren manufactured there.
Zincken, Schalmeyen oder Hoboyen
(wie sie es nennen) so daselbst geFer-
tiget werden, zu vernehmen.
Es seynd aber etliche gewesen, welche Now there have been some who have
diesen jtzigen unsern Thon noch umb sought to raise this present pitch of
ein Seinitonium zu erh6hen, sich unter- ours a semitone higher still. But, al-
stehen wollen: Welches, obs mir zu though it is not my place to correct it,
corrigiren zwar nicht gebiiret, so ist such a high pitch is in my opinion very
jedoch meines ermessens solche hhlle inconvenient for the singers of vocal
41 Cf. the Riemann definition of choir
choir pitch
pitch quoted
quoted at
at the
the beginning
beginning of
of Part
Part II
of this article.

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 Pitch in the i6th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 203
den Cantoribus vocalis Musicae, son- music,
music, especially
especially altos
altosand
andtenors,
tenors,and
and
derlich den Altisten und Tenoristen is often
often impossible
impossiblefor forthem
themtotoreach.
reach.
sehr unbequem, und offtmals fast Therefore
un- it would be sensible to leave
miiglich zu erreichen. Dariimb the manpitch
es at the aforementioned level
billich bei dem vorgesagten Tono blei-
since even so it is often found too high
ben lassen mochte; weil derselbige notohne
alone for vocalists, but also for
das nicht allein vor die Vocalisten, players of stringed instruments, such
sondern auch vor die Instrumentisten as the violino da braccio and the viola
bei den Besaitteten Instrumenten, als da gamba, as well as lutes, pandoras,
Violini de Bracio und Violen de Gam- and such: for strings must be tough to
ba, auch Lauten, Pandoren und der- stand such a high pitch. And this is
how it happens that often in the mid-
gleichen, zum offtern zu hoch befunden
dle of the singing the fifths go out
wird: Denn es aussbiindige Saitten seyn
miissen, die solche Hohe erleiden kon- of tune, and one is left in the mire.
nen. Daher kompts dann, wenn manIn order that the strings may stay bet-
mitten im Gesang ist, da schnappen dieter in tune, these and similar stringed
Quinten dahin, unnd ligt im Dr. Dar- instruments must usually be tuned a
mit nun die Saitten desto besser be- tone lower, and then the other instru-
stimbt bleiben konnen, so miissenments must necessarily play a second
solche und dergleichen besaittetelower.
In- Which of course is difficult for
strumenta gemeinlich umb ein Thoninexperienced musicians, but it is a
great help to the vocalists and singers,
tieffer gestimmet, und alsdann nottwen-
for their voices' sake, to sing a tone
dig mit den andern Instrumenten, auch
umb ein Secund tieffer musicirt werden. lower.
Welches zwar den unerfahrnen Musicis
Instrumentalibus schwer vorkompt, den
Vocalibus und Sengern aber an ihrer
.timm, umb einen Thon niedriger zu
musiciren, sehr viel hilfft.
Darumb lass ich mir den Unter- For this reason I like very well the
scheidt, da man zu Praag und distinction
etlichen made in Prague and some
andern Catholischen Capellen, other
denCatholic choirs, differentiating
Thon in Chor-Thon und Cammer- choir pitch from chamber pitch. For
Thon abtheilet, aus dermassen sehr there the pitch now customary, at which
wol gefallen. Denn daselbsten wird almost
der all of our organs are tuned, is
jtzige gew6nlicher Thon, nach wel- called chamber pitch, and is used only
chem nunmehr fast alle unsere Orgeln at table and for convivial occasions,
gestimmet werden, Cammer-Thon for ge- gaiety's sake; and this is most con-
nennet, und allein vor der Taffel und venient for instrumentalists, players of
in Convivijs zur froligkeit gebraucht;wind as well as stringed instruments.42
welches dann vor Instrumentisten,
wegen der Blasenden, so wol afich
Besaitteten Instrumenten, am be-
quembsten.

42 Praetorius may seem to contradict here what has been said just above: that the
strings often will not stay in tune at the higher pitch. Perhaps by "and this is most
convenient" he means the exclusion of the high pitch except for convivial occasions.
On such occasions, where conceivably the music had to compete with the sounds of
conversation and of eating and drinking, the increased brilliance resulting from the
higher pitch would be advantageous.

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204 The Musical Quarterly
Der Chor-Thon aber, welcher umb But
But choir
choir pitch,
pitch, which
whichisisa awhole
whole
tone
tone lower,
einen gantzen Thon tieffer ist, wird al- lower, is
is used
usedonly
onlyin
inchurches.
churches.
lein in der Kirchen gebraucht: UndAnd this first of all for the vocalists'
dasselbe erstlich, umb der Vocalisten sake, since the greatest burden rests on
them in churches (especially in Cath-
willen, damit dieselbige, weil auff ihn-
en die grosseste und meiste muh inolic choirs, in which the singing, on
der Kirchen (sonderlich in Catholi- account of the many psalms and other-
schen Capellen, da das singen, wegen wise, lasts a long time), and they man-
der vielen Psalmen und sonsten lang age better thus, and do not get hoarse
wahret) beruhet, mit ihrer Stimmeso soon from singing high tones. And
destobesser fort kommen, und nicht so also because the human voice sounds
bald, wegen der h6he, heischer werden much more attractive and sweeter in
mugen. Zum andern, dass auch die its middle and lower registers than it
Menschen-Stimme, wenn sie im Mittel does when it must cry out and shriek
und etwas tieff herein gehet, viel an-very high and above its proper limits.
mutiger und lieblicher anzuhoren, als Therefore, [p. 16] because of various
wenn sie in der hohe uber vermugen other advantages also, suavitatem sin-
oben hinaus ruffen und schreien muss. gularem et concentus bene susceptos,43
Darumb dann propter alias etiam mul- it would not be a bad thing if all or-
tifarias commoditates, suavitatem sin-gans were tuned a tone or a second
gularem et concentus bene susceptos lower: which is now, however, wholly
nicht ubel gethan were, dass alle Or- impossible to change in our German
geln umb einen Thon, oder Secund lands, and so we shall have to keep to
tieffer gestimmet und gesetzet seyn our usual chamber pitch (which is
rnochten: Welches aber nunmehr in nowadays in most places called and
unsern Deutschen Landen zu endern considered choir pitch).44
gantz unmiiglich, und demnach bey
dem gewonlichen Cammerthon (wel-
cher jtziger zeit an den meisten Ortern
Chor-Thon genennet, und dafiir ge-
halten wird) wol verbleiben muss.
In Engellandt haben sie vorzeiten,
In England formerly, and in the
und in den Niederlanden noch anitzo
Netherlands still today, most of the
ihre meiste blasende Instrumenta umb wind instruments are tuned a minor

43
43 I Iam
amnot
not
sure
sure
of the
of meaning
the meaning
of theseof
words
these
in this
wordscontext;
in this
theycontext;
represent,they
in represent, in
any
anycase,
case, only
only
additional
additional
considerations
considerations
reinforcing
reinforcing
Praetorius's Praetorius's
point. point.
44
44 Heinrich
Heinrich Compenius
Compeniusthe Younger
the Younger
(d. 1631),(d.
in 1631),
a proposal
in to
a the
proposal
Town Council
to the Town Council
of
of Schleiz,
Schleiz,in in
1599,
1599,
said that
said the
that
pipes
themust
pipes must
von
vonNevem
Nevemgestimmt
gestimmtwerden,
werden,
Sint nicht
Sintbe nicht
tuned anew,
be tuned
[since]anew,
they are
[since]
not allthey are not all
alle der Cohrhohe nach, eine Sekunde at choir pitch, [but] a second too high,
zu hoch, thue noth, das er Transponiert and they ought to be transposed, but it
wiirde, aber es wolt viel Miihe Kosten und would involve much effort and run the
Uncosten zu hoch auflauffen. costs up too high.
(Thekla Schneider, Die Orgelbauerfamilie Compenius, in Archiv fiir Musikforschung,
II [1937], 41.) In 1582 it was planned to lower the pitch of the organ of the Cathedral
in Cremona a semitone, so that it might accord better with the chorus and "all sorts
of musical instruments". A full account of the methods proposed for accomplishing
this, the estimated expenses, and the reasons for abandoning the project appears in
Volume VI of the Istituzioni e Monumenti dell' Arte Musicale Italiana, Milan, 1939,
pp. XV-XXII.

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 Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 205
eine tertiam minorem tieffer, als jtzothird
third lower
lower
than our
thanpresent
ourchamber
present chamber
unser Cammerthon, intoniret und ge- pitch,
pitch, so that
so that
their "F"
their
is, in "F"
our cham-
is, in our cham-
stimbt, also dass ihr F ist im Cammer ber
berpitch,
pitch,"D", and
"D",their
and"G"their
our "E"."G" our "E".
Thon unser D unnd ir G unser E. Wie And the excellent instrument-maker at
dann auch der vortreffliche Instrument- Antwerp, Johannes Bossus, made most
macher zu Antorff Johannes Bossus die of his harpsichords and spinets, as well
meisten Clavicymbeln und Symphoni-as pipe-works built there, tuned to this
en, auch darein gemachte Pfeiffwercke,same low pitch.
in demselbigen Tono intoniret und ge-
stimmet.

Und ist zwar nicht ohne, dass man And indeed it is not to be denied that
in diesem Thon den Clavicymbeln (wieone can give harpsichords (as under-
verstendige Instrumentmacher wissen)standing instrument-makers know) a
sweeter and more attractive tone at this
ein lieblichern und anmiitigern Reso-
nantz geben und zuwenden kan, mehr,pitch than they would have if they
als wenn man sie nach dem Cammer- were tuned to chamber pitch; just as
Thon abtheilet; wie denn auch die flutes and other instruments in such a
Flbtten und andere Instrumenta in sol- low pitch sound sweeter than at the
chem niedern Thon lieblicher, als im regular pitch, and make an entirely
rechten Thon lauten, und fast gar einedifferent effect on the ear (since when
andere art im gehbr (sintemahl sie in they are low they do not cry out so
der tieffe nicht so hart schreyen) mitloud) .
sich bringen.
Aber solche Instrumenta sind in vol- But such instruments are not con-
ler Music zu gebrauchen gar venient to use in concerted music with
unbe-
quem: und wird man nunmehr alleinemany participants; and so we shall have
bei vorgedachten beyden, als Chor- to keep to the two previously men-
und
Cammer-Thon verbleiben miissen. tioned, namely choir and chamber
pitch.
Wiewol auch in Italia und andern But in Italy and in various Catholic
Catholischen Capellen Deutsches Land- choirs of Germany, the said lower
es jtztgedachter niedriger Thon in pitch (a minor third lower) is much in
tertia inferiore gar sehr im gebrauch: use. For some Italians, not unjustly,
Sintemahl etliche Itali an dem hohen take no pleasure in high singing, and
singen, wie nicht unbillich, kein gefall- maintain it is not beautiful, and the
en, vermeynen es habe keine art, kbnne text cannot be properly understood,
auch der Text nicht recht wol vernom- and it sounds like crowing, yelling, sing-
men werden, man krehete, schreye und ing at the top of one's voice like the
singe in der hohe gleich wie die Grase- Grasemdgde.45 For that reason it is also
magde. Daher auch bissweilen im sometimes customary to sing and play
brauch, dass sie Hypolonicum Modum the Hypoionian mode, which has its
aussm C, wenn derselbe per quintam final on "C", when it is transposed
ins F transponiret wird, noch umb eine down a fifth to "F", a third lower yet,
tertz tieffer aussm D mit Orgeln, Posi- with final on "D", with organs, posi-
tiffen und beygeordneten Instrumenten tives, and other instruments concerned,
musiciren: Ungeachtet dieser Modus despite the fact that this mode suits
fast besser als der andern einer, ohne human voices almost better than any
45 The word Grasemagd does not appear in any of the etymological or historical
German dictionaries available. Lexer's Mittelhochdeutsches Handwdrterbuch (Leipzig,
1872) lists Grasmeit as meaning a maid who brings grass for the cows (and presumably,
if this i; the meaning, calls them in a shrill voice). Or perhaps it refers to a bird with
a shrill note (Grasmiicke=a kind of warbler; faule Magd-landrail, corn-crake).

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206 The Musical Quarterly
fernere
fernere transposition,
transposition,humanis
humanis vocibus other,
vocibus other, without
without anyany further
furthertransposi-
transposi-
musicirt werden konte, so wird doch tion, yet
yet the
the lower
lower arrangement
arrangementisisused
used
solches eintzig und 'allein umb dersolelysolely and
and exclusively
exclusivelyforforthe
thevoices'
voices'
Vocalisten und Senger willen also an-sake. In In the
the same
same way,
way,thetheHypodorian
Hypodorian
gestellet. Gleicher gestald wird auch is played
played aa third
third lower,
lower,with
withfinal
finalon
on
HypoDorius umb ein Tertz niedriger"E". This This and
and similar
similar transpositions
transpositionsare
are
aussm E musiciret. Welche und der- somewhat bitter and alien to an or-
gleichen Transpositiones einem Or-as well as to other instrumental-
ganist
ganisten sowol, als andern Instrumen-ists at first. But if one does not let the
tisten anfangs zwar etwas sawer extra
undeffort spoil one's pleasure, but
wiederlich ank6mpt: Aber wenn rather
einer exercises oneself and practises it
sich nur der miihe nicht verdriessen industriously for a time, [p. 17] it be-
lest sondern mit fleiss ein zeitlangcomes
sich easy and indeed a pleasure to
darinnen exerciret und ubet, so ist und practise this transposition and excel
wird es ihm gar leicht, ja gleichsamb in it.
eine Lust zu practiciren und praestiren.
Wann nun aber der jtziger zeit ge- Now when the chamber pitch custom-
wohnliche Cammer-Thon, vom Orgel- ary at the present time is given to an
macher einer Orgel gegeben, und das organ, and the whole organ is tuned
gantze Werck darnach gestimmet wird; to it, the lowest "C" in the Principal
so ist mehren theils in Orgeln, die nicht of the Manual, in organs that are not
gar zu gering und klein angestellet wer- on too small a scale, is 8 feet long: and
den, das unterste C im Principal des this pitch then agrees with regular
Manual-Clavirs von 8 Fussen: Welcher
harpsichords and spinets, and is called
by organ-builders AEqual because it
Thon dann mit den rechten Clavicym-
beln und Spinetten gleich uberein
squares with the pitch of the human
kompt, und wird von den Orgelma-
voice . . .

chern AEqual genennet, dariimb dass es

mit der Menschen Stimme, an der Tieff
und H6he quadriret ...
That is: the pitch most generally in use in German Protestant
churches in Praetorius's time, after having risen to its "present" level,
is the highest he considers practical; indeed he thinks the lowering
of the pitch by one tone would be advisable, although he believes
that no such change can be brought about. He endorses the distinc-
tion made in Prague and elsewhere, where the pitch he calls cus-
tomary is termed chamber pitch, and the pitch a tone lower, which
is more convenient for singers, is called choir pitch. In what follows,
Praetorius adopts this distinction, and calls the higher, customary
pitch chamber pitch throughout, despite the fact that it is "in most
places called choir pitch".
In England, "formerly", and in the Netherlands "still today", as
well as in Italy and in many German Catholic churches (where
there is lengthy singing) a pitch a half-tone lower than choir pitch
(i.e., a minor third lower than Praetorius's chamber pitch) is much
in use. This lowest pitch (i.e., lowest of the pitches Praetorius dis-
cusses) is a good one for harpsichords, flutes, and other instruments,

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 Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 207

since
sincetheir
theirtonetoneis sweeter
is sweeter at the atlower
the lower
pitch, though
pitch, notthough
loud or
not loud or
brilliant
brilliantenough
enough to use
to usein concert
in concert
with many
with other
many instruments.
other instruments.
But
Butwhere
where this
this
lowlow pitch
pitch
is notisused,46
not used,46
a speciala transposition
special transposition
down
downa aminor
minor third
third(i.e.,(i.e.,
to this
to same
this low
samepitch)
lowispitch)
often resorted
is oftentoresorted to
in
in the
theHypoionian
Hypoionian andandHypodorian
Hypodorian modes,modes,
for the forsake the
of the
sakevoices.
of the voices.
In
In Volume
Volume IIIIII
of ofhis his
Syntagma,
Syntagma, p. 45, p.
Praetorius
45, Praetorius
gives thegives
octavesthe octaves
assigned
assignedtoto thethevoices
voicesin the
in "regular"
the "regular"
HypoionianHypoionian
mode as: mode
bass, as: bass,
'"c-c1";
'"c-c1";tenor,
tenor, "g-g1";
"g-g1";alto,alto,
"cl-c2";
"cl-c2";
soprano,
soprano,
"gl_g2"."gl_g2".
For this mode,
For this mode,
as
as for
forthetheHypodorian,
Hypodorian, he indicates
he indicates
that thethatregular
the transposition
regular transposition
was
wasaafifth
fifthdownwards.
downwards. Now Nowin theinpassage
the passage
quoted above
quoted he above
says that
he says that
the
the Hypoionian
Hypoionian mode,
mode, thusthus
transposed,
transposed,
suits thesuits
voices
thealmost
voicesbetter
almost better
than
thananyanyother,
other, andandwe canwe seecanwhat
see he
whatmeans
he when
means wewhen
compare wethe
compare the
compass
compassofof thethevoices
voices withwiththe modal
the modal
octavesoctaves
of the transposed
of the transposed
Hypoionian
Hypoionian andandHypodorian,
Hypodorian, both both
as given
as bygiven
Praetorius:
by Praetorius:
Vocal compasses as Modal octaves of the transposed Hypo-
given by Praetorius ionian and Hypodorian as given by
Praetorius

jWb
jWbl~~.
l~~.*1*1
IS RIt
IS RIt
7.r -0l Canhuj tCant

7,tB ^ * <" I - l,; C-- "

-Baus Teo Altuo s Basu Tr A tur d
These two modes thus transposed lie just about in the middle of
Praetorius's vocal compasses.47 And if, as we have assumed, his
chamber pitch was about a minor third higher than our standard,
this would make the modal octaves for the Hypoionian correspond
to Ab-ab, eb-ebl, ab-ab1, and ebl-eb2 in our pitch, which do indeed, as
he says, fit human voices about as well as any; and the Hypodorian
would be just one tone higher.
But Praetorius has more to say. He has been discussing the organ
in the cathedral at Halberstadt, built in 1361, renovated in 1495,
of which he has just given the measurements of the longest pipe,
"Be3 .
46 I take this to be Praetorius's meaning, though he is not explicit on this point.

47 Nevertheless, he says, the special transposition of an additional minor third

downward is often resorted to, making the finals of these two modes "D" and "E". This
takes the alto and soprano in the Hypoionian mode each a tone below the compass
Praetorius gives for those voices, which more than confirms the supposition made in
footnote 46. Perhaps the reason is the great amount of psalm-singing in these churches,
which would concern only the basses and tenors, and make it advantageous to keep
their reciting tones low.

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 208 The Music; al Quarterly

Es ist aber dieses [p.

[p. 1o2]und
1o2] Now
Now this dergleichen
this same
sameorgan
organwaswasa a
Werck einen guten good
good tone
toneund or
or tone
tonebald
and
anda ahalf
halfhigher
11/2higher Ton
h6her gewesen,than thanalsour
our present
present
die organs organs suited
unsrige suited toto
the
the
jtzige
Chormessige Wercke choirs,
choirs, which
which stehen;
isisproved
provedby bythe
the
Welches
length
length
die vorangezogene of the
the large
large pipe
grosse pipepreviously
previously
Pfeiffen given.
given.In-In-leng-
de ausweiset. Wie denn auch vermut- deed
deed itit is
is to
to be
beassumed
assumedthatthatlong
longagoago
lich, dass lange Zeit vorher alle Werck,
all organs,
organs, however
howeverthey theymay
mayhavehavebeen
been
wie sie auch an vorbeschriebene built
built in
gr6sse in the
the size
sizepreviously
previouslydescribed,
described,
and
and since
m6gen gemacht seyn, dieweil dieselben since under
underPoperyPoperytheytheywere
were
alle im Bapsthumb zu nichts anders,
used
used only
only for
forthe
theplainsong,
plainsong,were
were
atat
this
this
denn zum Choral gebraucht worden,
pitch
pitch or
or even
evenhigher.
higher.For
Foreven
even
recently
recently
the
thege-
also in dem Thon und noch h6her plainsong
plainsongorgans,
organs,which
whichwere
werea a
standen haben. Sintemahl letzlich die whole
whole fourth
fourthhigher
higherthan
thanour
ourpitch
pitch
(or(or
Choral-Werck, welche nach unserm a fifth
fifth lower)
lower)were
wererecognized
recognizedasas
the
the
Thon ein gantze Quart h6her, oder most
most convenient,
convenient,and
andkept
keptatatthat
that
pitch.
pitch.
eine Quint niedriger gemacht, fur dieAnd
And although
althoughsome
someorgans
organsfall
fall
a little
a little
bequemsten erkandt, und an solchenshort
short of
of being
beingexactly
exactlyininthe
thepitch
pitchdes-
des-
Thon behalten worden. Und ob schon cribed,
cribed, this
this fault
faultisisnot
nottotobebeattributed
attributed
to any
any lack
an etlichen Wercken etwas mangelt, lack of
ofgood
goodwill
willororzeal
zeal
onon
the
the
dass sie nicht Just in beschriebenen part
part of
of the
the masters
masterswho
whooriginally
originallybuilt
built
Thon einstimmen, so ist doch solcher the
the old
old plainsong
plainsongorgans
organssuch
suchasas
are
are
defect nicht denen Meistern, welche still in use: but rather it is because in
die alten Choral-Wercke, so annoch their time no fixed standard of choir
im gebrauch anfenglich erbawet haben, pitch had been chosen by which they
could govern themselves, such as is now,
ihrem guten Willen and fleiss zuzumess-
en: sondern dass man vieleicht zu der praise God, in use.48
Zeit noch keinen bestendigen Choris-
ten- oder Chor-Thon, darnach man sich
richten mogen, wie Gott lob nunmehr
im gebrauch, erwehlt gehabt.
Auch seynd offt die Orgeln, danach Moreover, organs have often been
gute Chorales und Schreyhalse zu sin- tuned now a tone higher, now lower,
gen an dem Ort bestalt und verhan- for which good choristers as well as
den gewesen, baldt ein Thon hoher bawling voices were [p. 103] locally
und wol niedriger intoniret, und auch available and employed, and often, too,
offte durch vieles renoviren und stim- as a result of much renovating and tun-
men, noch mehr von ihrem anfanglich- ing, have been made still higher than
en Stande in die h6he gebracht wor- their original pitch. Otherwise, how-
den. Sonsten aber wird obbeschriebener ever, the pitch described above, which
Thon, als, der eine Quart hoher und is a fourth higher and fifth lower (to
Quint niedriger (nach unsrigen jtzigenspeak in terms of our present usual
gewohnlichen Thon, sonsten Cammer- pitch, otherwise called chamber pitch)
Thon genandt, zureden) fur den rich- is considered the best, and is still found
tigsten behalten, und in den vorneh-in the principal cathedrals.
men Stifft-Kirchen noch also befunden.

48 Presumably, Praetorius did not mean his reference to a "fixed standard now
in use" ironically; but his statements previously quoted show that the currency of his
"fixed standard" ("chamber pitch") can have been no more than local, in both time
and place.

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 Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 209
Wiewol
Wiewolausserdeme
ausserdemeauchauch
viel Wercke
viel Wercke
AlthoughAlthough
in addition
inmany
addition
organs
many organs
gefunden
gefunden werden,
werden,welche
welche
umb eine
umbareeine
to be
arefound
to be
that
found
are a that
secondare
lower
a second lower
Secund
Secundniedriger
niedrigeroderoder
hbher,
hbher,
etzliche
etzliche
or higher,
or and
higher,
some,and
indeed
some,
not aindeed
few, not a few,
und
undderen
derennicht
nicht
wenig
wenig
auch auch
umb ein
umbpitched
ein pitched
a semitone
a semitone
higher. higher.
Semitonium
Semitonium h6her
h6her
intoniret
intoniret
und ge-
und ge-
macht worden.

It is perhaps impossible to be perfectly sure exactly what every

detail of all this means; but it is possible to understand it. First of
all, what is the standard with which Praetorius compares these
higher pitches throughout? Clearly, it is his chamber pitch. He
says that the Halberstadt organ is from a tone to a tone and a half
higher than "our present organs suited to the choirs".49 And "long
ago" all organs must have been at this pitch or even higher.50 In
fact it was recognized that the pitch a fourth higher, or a fifth lower,
was the most convenient for accompanying the plainsong. Now this
pitch a "fourth higher" is obviously mentioned to illustrate the pitch
that is "even higher" than the Halberstadt one; if the Halberstadt
pitch is 1i/2 tones higher than chamber pitch, then this plainsong
pitch would be a tone "even higher" than that. And at the end of
the quoted passage he again'refers to "the pitch described above,
which is a fourth higher and fifth lower (to speak in terms of our
present usual pitch, otherwise called chamber pitch)".
In the Cathedral at Magdeburg, Praetorius says (p. 117), there is
"still" a small old organ that is a fourth higher in pitch than the
"big new one just built" (by Heinrich Compenius, as he states on
p. 172). In the Church of St. Blasius in Nordhausen (p. 116), there
was until "recently" a three-manual organ, built between 50 and 1oo
years earlier, which stood, "like most of the organs of the time, a
tone higher than our present chamber pitch".51 All this makes it
quite clear that chamber pitch is the standard he is using for com-
parison throughout this passage.
49 Ellis confuses the question by saying that this must refer to the "suitable pitch"
for which Praetorius (pp. 231-232) gives more or less exact pipe-measurements. The
significance of these measurements for determining the pitch will be discussed in Part
III. But what matters now is that Praetorius would not have said "unsere itzige
[present] chormassige Werke" in reference to a pitch not then used but only recom-
mended by him as desirable. And it will be clear from what follows that on p. 102 he
is in fact not referring to this recommended pitch, which is described only in an
appendix that follows the index, 130 pages later, in the original print.
50Here is the contradiction of the statement given on p. 202 above, the contradic-
tion reproduced in the Riemann definitions. It probably arose from the desire to
generalize from conflicting data: some "old" organs were probably higher, and some
lower, than Praetorius's chamber pitch.
51 Cf. footnote 50.

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210 The Musical Quarterly

Now
Now we we have
havetentatively
tentativelyset
setboth
bothPraetorius's
Praetorius's
chamber
chamber
pitch
pitch
andand
Schlick's
Schlick's recommended
recommendedpitch
pitchthree
threeoror
four
four
semitones
semitoneshigher
higher
thanthan
ours.
ours. And
And while
whileSchlick
Schlickspeaks
speaksofofanan
alternative
alternative
pitch
pitch
"a fifth
"a fifth
lower",
lower",
Praetorius
Praetorius mentions
mentionsone
one"a"afourth
fourthhigher
higher
or or
a fifth
a fifth
lower"-
lower"-
which
which
would
would put
put these
thesealternatiye
alternatiyepitches
pitches
approximately
approximately
"in"in
thethe
same
same
key".
key". There
There is,is,however,
however,ananapparent
apparent conflict
conflictin in
whatwhat they
they
say say
about
about
them.
them. For
For Schlick
Schlicksays
saysthat
thatthethepitch
pitcha fifth
a fifthlower
loweris less
is less
convenient
convenient
for
for the
the plainsong
plainsongrepertory,
repertory,while
while Praetorius
Praetorius says
says
thethe
purpose
purpose
of the
of the
pitch
pitch aa fourth
fourthhigher
higherorora afifth
fifthlower
lowerwaswas
to to
suit
suit
thatthat
samesame
repertory.
repertory.
How
How isis this
this conflict
conflicttotobebeexplained?
explained?
It must be remembered that Schlick's basic reason for recom-
mending his higher pitch was that it kept almost the entire compass
of plainsong melody within the range of the pedal keyboard he
recommended: "F-c1". I emphasize the word recommend because it
is clear that in this connection Schlick was outlining a project for
reform, rather than describing existing methods. Table I presents
in chronological order all the information I have encountered in
the course of the present investigation on the compasses of organ
keyboards, including all the data scattered through the second
volume of Praetorius's Syntagma.
TABLE I

COMPASSES OF ORGAN KEYBOARDS BEFORE 1620

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Huc. 113 before 930 3 octaves

Buh. 1000-1100 "G-c2" (Eberhard von Freising)

Praet. 94-95 c. 1200 "c-al'' "b mol" See Part III

"B-f1" ". dur"Jof this article
An. IV, 362 13th cent. 3 octaves

Praet. 98-99 1361(1495?) "B-ci" ["B-a"'?] "B-b" Halberstadt, Cathedral; Nicolas

and P1. XXV "B-cO" ["c-a"'?] Faber, builder, Gregor Kleng,
"renovator"

Praet. 110 c. 1420 "B-c2" "B-b" Venice, San Salvator

Bos. 87 1424 44 keys Pistoia, Chiesa dei Serviti; Matheus

Paulus de Prato

Jep. 48 1436 56 keys Padua, San Antonio

Jep. 29 1439 26 keys Sacile, Parish Church; Giorgio
Alemanno

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 Pitch
Pitch in thein
i6ththe
and Early
i6th 17thand
Centuries
Early- Part 17th
II 211 Centuries - Part II 211
TABLE
TABLE I (Continued)
I (Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass
compass Place, Place,
church; Builder;
church; Remarks
Builder; Remarks

Bux. 6f., 22 1450-60? ["G"? "A"?] "B-f2"

"B-f2"
"B-f2"is theiscompass
the ofcompass
the key- of the key-
board
board givengiven
in the text
in page
the text page
contained
contained in the in
original
the book
original
of book of
tablatures;
tablatures;but thebut
pieces the
them-pieces them-
selves
selvessometimes
sometimes
descend to "A"
descend to "A"
and
and"G""G"

Bos. 82 1451 "Clg2" "C1-C"

"C1-C"Siena,Siena,
San Domenico;
San short
Domenico;
octave short octave
at
atbottom
bottom
of manuals,
of manuals,
to which, to which,
as
asusual
usual
iii Italian
iii organs
Italian
of the
organs of the
15th
15th and and
16th centuries,
16th centuries,
the the
pedals
pedals are attached,
are attached,
and which and which
they
theysimply
simply
duplicateduplicate

Kle. 20 1452-53 "C-f2" (Paumann's

(Paumann'sFundamentum
Fundamentum
Organi- Organi-
sandi)
Wan. 1455 "C-c3" and Delft
"F_c3"

Praet. p. 109,1 1456 "C"-[?] Brunswick, St. Aegidius; Andreas

Pll. XXVII "[?]"."b2" ["b"'?] Gnarus (?); (data inferred from
& XXVIII Praetorius's drawings)

Ang. 13 1459 "B" [40 "feet"] Barcelona, Cathedral; Frater Leon-

-"F" [23 "feet"] ardus Marcii of Frankfort
or "D" [26 "feet"]

Ang. 13 1460 24 "palmos"- Valencia, Cathedral; Peter Pons

3 or 4 "palmos"
[2.94 meters-
63 or 84 cm.]

Praet. 110 c. 1470 "B-d2" "A-bb" Nuremberg, St. Sebald; Heinrich

Traxdorff

Praet. 110 c. 1470 "B-al" Nuremberg, Unser lieben Frauer;

Heinrich Traxdorff

Praet. 111 c. 1470 "B-f2" "A-a" Mildenberg; Friederich Krebs &

Nicolaus Miilner

Ner. 142 1473 28 [or 29?] Lucca, San Martino; Mathers

"white keys" Paulus de Prato
"F-f3" [?]

Praet. 111 1475? "B-a2" "B-bb" Bamberg, Cathedral; Conrad Roter-

[?] [?] burger
Ziir. 452 1479 "G"-[?] Zurich, Frauenmiinster

Win. 1479-1482 "A-a2" (chromatic Not an actual organ, but a picture

except for "f#2" of one in intarsia wainscoting
and "g#2")

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212 The Musical Quarterly
TABLE I (Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Ner. 143 1480 "F kf3, "in the Lucca, San Martino; Maestro
47 keys usual Italian Domenico di Maestro Lorenzo;
style" 18 "black" keys, presumably
omitting "F#" and "G#"

Ner. 131 1481 "F-a2" Lucca, San Giovanni; Maestro

[or "f-a3"?] Domenico; probably no "F#"
or "G#" ["f" or "g:"?] or
"g#2", ["g#3"7]

Ram. 36f. 1482 "F"-[?] "Almost all modern instruments ...

in Italy [including organs]"

Ram. 36f. 1482 "C"-[?] "Modern ... organs" in Spain

Jep. 37 1487-94 47 keys "Fi-Gi A, Perugia, project for Sant'Agostino;

Bbi B1i" Tomaso di Giovanni
or "F GA
Bb Bt"

Jep. 35 ff. c. 1490 "F" 24 "ft." "F"

"F" 24
24"ft."
"ft."Venice,
Venice,
St. Mark's;
St. Mark's;
Fra Urbano
Fra Urbano
-?

Praet. 111 1493 "F-a2" "F-bb" Bamberg, Cathedral; organ en-

larged by builder, Conrad Roten.
burger; see also 1475

Jep. 48 1493 "F-a2" 38 keys Padua, Santa Giustina

Ner. 132 1495 "f-a3" Lucca, San Pietro Maggiore; Maes-

tro Domenico; probably no
" or "ge" or "g"
Praet. 99 1495 "B-c1" Halberstadt, Cathedral; Principals
(keyboard only; as "renovated" by Gregor
for the Kleng
knees?)

Praet. 99 1495 "B-a1"

"B-a1" "B-b" Halberstadt, Cathedral; full organ
including mixtures; as "reno-
vated" by Gregor Kleng

Jep. 29 1496 47 keys Sacile, Parish Church; Antonio

Dilmani

Jep. 47 1496 "F-fs" 47 keys Gemona, Santa Maria della Pieve

Vog. 160-161 1501 "F-e2" "F-dl" Hagenau,62 Alsace, St. Georg;

Jacob Billung
52
52 Pirro,
Pirro, in in
thethe
article
article
OrguesOrgues
et Organistes
et Organistes
de Haguenaude in
Haguenau
the Revuein de the
Musi-Revue de Musi-
cologie,
cologie, Feb.,
Feb.,
1926,1926,
pp. 11-17,
pp. 11-17,
states that
states
an organ
that anin this
organ
towninwas
thisinspected
town wasin 1502
inspected in 1502
by
by Schlick,
Schlick, who wholaterlater
(1510)(1510)
recommended
recommended
that the pitch
that of
thethepitch
Billung
oforgan
the Billung
be organ be
raised
raisedoneonetone.
tone.
PirroPirro
promised
promised
the publication
the publication
of the Schlick
of the
report,
Schlick
but I have
report,
been but I have been
unable to find it.

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 Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries -Part II 213
TABLE
TABLE I (Continued)
I (Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Schl. I 1511 "F-cl" (Suggestion for reform; not descrip-

tion of existing organ)

Schl. IIK 1512 No "F#" or "G#"

Kot. 1513-1532 "F.bb2"

Bas. 29 1515 "F-a2" (Oswald

(OswaldHoltzach's
Holtzach'sorgan
organ
method)
method)

Jep. 44 1151 "F-a2" St.

St. Gallen,
Gallen,Miinster;
Miinster;Rupprecht
Rupprecht
Eggstetter;
Eggstetter;nono
"F#"
"F#"

Jep. 36 1516 "F_f2"' ["1F-f3a"?] "F"-? Udine,

Udine,Cathedral;
Cathedral;Bernardino
Bernardino
da da
Vicenza

Kle. 1520-1524 "F-a2" "F-bb"

Jep. 29 1521 30 keys Ceneda; Tomaso di m. Andrea

Vicentino & Giacomo di ser
Gottardo

Praet. 116 , c. 1530 '" "C-c" Leipzig, Pauliner Kirche

Praet. 116 c. 1530-1560? Nordhausen, St. Blasii; one tone

higher than Praetorius's chamber
pitch

Lan. 123 1533

Bos. 89 & 1536 "D1"-? Arezzo, Cathedral; Luca di Ber-

Jep. 25 nardino da Cortona

Ant. 34 ; c. 1537 50 keys 1 20 keys Brescia, Cathedral; G. G. Antegnati

Jep. 28 1538 50 keys Padua, I1 Santo; Vincenzo de

Columbis Piemontese

Aar., Fol. Hlv

Hlv 1539 "F-f3" [?] No "F#" or "G#"
47 keys

Cav.K 1542 "F-a2"

Jep. 31 & c. 1542 53 keys, edal

including p Cathedral; Giov. Battista
"F" 11 Cremona,
1st XVI ff. "feet"-? Fachetti

Merk. & Jep. 1543-1549 57 keys [twice?] Toledo, Cathedral; Hernandez de

L 44-5 13 keys in Cordova and Juan Gaytan
chromatic
succession

Ber. II 1545-1565 "C-a2" No "F#" or "G#"

Kins. #241 before 1550 "F-c3" Italian positive in the Heyer Collec-
tion; no "F*" or "G#"

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 214 The Musical Quarterly
TABLE
TABLEI (Continued)
I (Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Jep. 30 c. 1550 24 "feet"-? Milan,

Milan, Cathedral;
Cathedral;Giovanni
Giovanni
Gia-
Gia-
50 keys como
como Antegnati
Antegnati

Ber. I 1550 "C-a2" No

No "F#"
"F#"or
or"G#"
"G#"

Praet. 170 c. 1550 "C"-[?] and "C"-[?]

"C"-[?]Liineburg,
Liineburg,St.St.
Johannes;
Johannes;
built
built
at at
s'Hertogenbosch,
s'Hertogenbosch, Holland
Holland
"F " [2?]
Buch. 23f. 1551 "F-g2" ["a2 "?] "F-bb"
"F-bb"Constance,
Constance,Cathedral;
Cathedral;
no no
"F#",
"F#",
"G#",
"G#", or
or"g#2"'
"g#2"'

Ven.K 1557 "C-a2"

Bos. 88 1560 "Cl-ce" "Ci-C" Cortona, Santa Maria Nuova;

Onofrio Zeffirini

Jep. 37 1562 6 keys Evora (Portugal), Cathedral

Mer. IK 1567 Includes one "G#"

Bos. 87 c. 1570 "C-c" Prato, San Domenico; Onofrio

Zeffirini?; short octave

Am.K 1571 "C-a2"

Bos. 84 1571 "C1-E1" Florence, S. S. Triniti; Onofrio

Zeffirini

Jep. 37 1574-75 3 keys Venice, San Vito

Praet. 176 1576 "C-c3" "C-d"' Bernaw; Hans Scherer; fully chro-
matic in manuals; 26 keys in
pedal

Schm. I K 1577 "C-a2"

Cab. 1578 "C-a2"

Praet. 176 1580 "C-c3" "C.d'" Stendahl, Unser lieben Frauen;

Hans Scherer; fully chromatic in
manuals; 26 keys in pedal;
cf. 1576

Praet. 164 ? ssC-a2"t "C-dt" Liibeck, St. Peters; Gottschald

Burckart, of the Nether!ands;
pedal includes "F#" and "G#"

Praet. 165 ? "C-d'1 Liibeck, Unser lieben Frauen;

l"D-a2"J Bartold -

Paixx 1583 ,"C-a2" Including "Eb" and "Gj"

Bert. 1591 "F-ac"

Mer. II ' 1592 "E-c3"

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 Pitch in the i6th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 215
TABLE
TABLE I (Continued)
I (Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Gab. IIK 1595 "C-a2" Includes one "G#"

Gab. IIIK 1596 "C-c3"

Dir. 1597-1609 "C-a2"

Abd. 392 1599 5 octaves "F2"-? Rome, St. John Lateran; Luca Blasi
21 keys

Kins. #242 c. 1600 "C-c3" Positive

Positive in
in the
the Heyer
Heyer Collection;
Collection;
short octave

Bess. 201 c. 1600 "c-C4" German positive; short octave

Praet. 178 c. 1600? "C-c3" "C-de" Brunswick, St. Blasii; M. Hennig;

manuals include "F#", "G#",
"g#2", and "bb2"

Praet. 168-169 ?
12' "F1"-[?] 24'"F2"-[?] Hamburg, St. Jacobi; all Ober
8' "C"-[?l 16' "Ci"-[?] Werck stops are listed in multi-
ples of 3'; other manual stops in
multiples of 2'; pedal has 24'
"Principal aus dem F" and 16'
"Principal C"; see Part III of
this article

Praet. 169 ? 12' "Fi"4t] 24' "F2"-[?] Hamburg, St. Peter's; Ober Werck
8"C"-[?] 16' "C1"-[?] stops are listed in multiples of 3';
Riickpositiv lists "8' E" ["F"?
"C"?]; pedal has 24' Principal
"ex F"; "Gross Bass oder Unter-
satz von 16' ins C"; see Part III
of this article

Praet. 172 c. 1604 "C-c2" "g-dl' [sic, Magdeburg,

Magdeburg, Cathedral;
Cathedral; Heinrich
Heinrich
with probably Compenius; see
see Part
Part III
III of
of this
this
24' "F2"F" meaning article
C-dl]
Praet. 166 1606 "F-a2" "C-c1" Liibeck, Cathedral; Jacob-;
perhaps the organ Ellis lists as
his entry 484.1

Schm. II 1607 "C-c3"

53 Thekla Schneider (loc. cit.) says this means that the keyboard did not be
with "C1" but with "F2". But there is just one 24' stop in the Ober-Werk, al
whose other stops (except the quints) are listed in multiples of 2'. So the 24' indi
has no bearing on the compass of the keyboard. Praetorius's listing reads: "Prin
grosser Untersatz bis ins F von 24 Fuss", i.e., "Principal great Sub-Bass down
of 24 feet". This could mean that there was a Sub-Bass belonging to the 32' oc
but going down only to "F", instead of to "C". Another possibility will be discuss
Part III, in connection with the organ of St. Jacobi, in Hamburg.

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216 The Musical Quarterly
TABLE
TABLE II (Continued)
(Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Praet. 199 c. 1610 "C-e1' Riddageshausen, Monastery; Hein-

rich Compenius; no "C#",
"D#", or "d#"

Praet. 18954 1610 [sic] "C-c3" "C-d'" Frederiksborg, Denmark, Royal

Castle; Esaias Compenius; short
octaves

Cer. 931f. & 1613 "F-a2" and Some organs begin on "F"; most
1041 "C-a2" "nowadays" on "C" with the
short octave; some on "C" with
the full octave except for "C#"
and "D#"55

54 This organ was built by Esaias Compenius in Brunswick, and presented to the
King of Denmark in 1616. It survives today in more or less unchanged state, and
recordings are available (HMV) of selections played on it by the Danish organist
Finn Vider0. It is described by Angul Hammerich in Et historisk Orgel paa Frederiks-
borg Slot, in Tidsskrift for Kunstindustri, 2. Raekke, V. 3, 1897, pp. 1-20, as well as
(in somewhat shorter compass) in Eine historische Orgel auf Frederiksborg Schloss bei
Kopenhagen, in the Bulletin de la Societe Union Musicologique, II (1922), 65-78, and
by Thekla Schneider in Die Orgelbauerfamilie Compenius in Archiv fur Musikfor-
schung, II (1937), 22-34. The latter establishes from an inscription pasted inside the organ
that it was built in 161o, and not 1612 as Praetorius states. The "Direction" of Prae-
torius himself is acknowledged in this inscription. (Praetorius speaks of his friendship
with Esaias Compenius in Syntagma, II, 160.) Through the kindness of Mr. Kurt Stone
I have had some correspondence with Messrs. Vider0 and Paul Gerhard Andersen,
Orgelbygmester of the Danish firm of Marcussen & Son, organ builders, who was
one of those entrusted by the Danish Government, at the outbreak of World War II,
to make exact measurements of the entire organ, in case the War should make neces-
sary any reconstruction. Fortunately the organ was not damaged. A comprehensive
book on the organ is promised. Mr. Andersen states that the pitch is about a half-tone
higher than al =44o. Since the pipes (1,001 of them) are all of wood, it is entirely
unlikely that they can have been shortened perceptibly since they were built. The
Abbe Vogler claimed to have "improved" this organ in the short space of three hours'
work, probably some time between 1798 and 1800; but Mahrenholz, who examined the
instrument thoroughly, could find no trace of Vogler's work. (See Hertha Schweiger's
article Abbe Voglers Simplifikationssystem und seine akustischen Studien, in Kirchen-
musikalisches Jahrbuch, XXIX [1935], 120.) Certainly he did not change its pitch.
On the other hand, in a restoration undertaken by the firm of Cavaille-Coll in 1896,
adjustable pieces of metal for tuning purposes were added at the ends of all open
pipes, and beards affixed to all stopped ones. Thus the original pitch can hardly have
been lower than the present one, and it may very well have been somewhat higher.
The Danish article by Hammerich contains good pictures of the whole organ and of
the manuals.

55 The suggestion that the third of these three types had "Al" and "B1" (or "Bb1")
added below a short octave is erroneous, I think, being based on a misreading of
"quinta" for "quarta" in the passage on Cerone's p. 931.

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 Pitch in the i6th and Early 17th Centuries -Part II 217
TABLE
TABLE I I(Continued)
(Continued)

Manual Pedal
Source Date compass compass Place, church; Builder; Remarks

Praet. 186-187 1614 "C-d3"' "C-d"' Dresden, Schlosskirche; Gottfried

Fritzsche; double keys for
"d#/eb" and "g#/ab"; short
octave

DeC. 3, 5 1615 "F-cs" "C-e" and No "black" keys except "F#" &
"C-E" "Bb"

Praet. 185-186 1615 "C-f8" "C-el" Biickeburg; Esaias Compenius;

double keys for "d#/el" and
"ga/ab"; short octave

Praet. 197 1616 "C-f3" . "C"-[?] Sondershausen; Gottfried Fritzsche;

double keys for "d#/eb"

Schn. 51 1617 "F-cO" "C-d" Markranstidt, Stadtkirche; Hein-

rich Compenius the Younger

Praet. 200-202 1619 "C-d3" (or "f3") "C-el' Bayreuth; Gottfried Fritzsche; no
"C" or "D#", double keys for
"d:/eb"
Praet. 192 1619 "C-c3" (or "better" "C-dl" Praetorius's suggestion for a small
"d3") orgar, of one manual and pedal
Praet. 189-190 c. 1619 "C-d3c" "C-d'" Schoningen, Schlosscapelle; Gott-
fried Fritzsche; short octave,
double keys for "d#/eb"

SOURCES OF INFORMATION CONTAINED

IN TABLE I

Aar. Aaron, Pietro, Toscanello in musica, Venice, 1539.

Abd. Abdy Williams, C. F., Some Italian Organs, in Zeitschrift der Int. Mus. Ges., VIII, 387-96.

Am.K Ammerbach, Elias Nikolaus, Orgel oder instrumenttabulatur, Leipzig, 1571, as described
in Kink.

An. IV Anonymus IV, De Mensuris et Discantu, in E. de Coussemaker, Scriptorum de Musica

Mcdii Aevi .., Tomus I, Paris, 1864.

Ang. Angles, Higini, Orgelmusik der Schola Hispanica com XV. bis XVII. Jahrhundert, in
Festschriftfur Peter Wagner, Leipzig, 1926.

Ant. Antegnati, Costanzo, L'arte organica, 1608, modern reprint with introduction by Renato
Lunelli and German translation by Paul Smets, Mainz, 1938.

Bas. Katalog der Musik-Sammlung auf der Universitats-Bibliothek in Basel (Julius Richter),
Leipzig, 1892.

Ber. IK Bermudo, Juan, El Arte Tripharia, 1549, as described in Kink.

Ber. II Ibid., Declaracion de instrumentos musicales, Ossuna, 1555.

Bert. K Bertoldo, Sperindio, Toccate, Ricercari, & Canzone Frances .. Venice, 1591, as described
in Kink.

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218 The Musical Quarterly
SOURCES
SOURCES OF
OFINFORMATION
INFORMATIONCONTAINED
CONTAINEDIN IN
TABLE
TABLE
I (Continued)
I (Continued)

Bess.
Bess. Bessaraboff,
Bessaraboff,Nicholas,
Nicholas,Ancient
AncientEuropean
European
Musical
Musical
Instruments,
Instruments,
An Organological
An Organological
Study Study
of of
the
the Musical
MusicalInstruments
Instruments......atat
the
the
Museum
Museum
of of
FineFine
ArtsArts
Boston,
Boston,
Boston,
Boston,
1941.1941.

Bos.
Bos. Bossi,
Bossi,Enrico,
Enrico,DiDialcuni
alcuni
Organi
Organi
antichi
antichi
della
della
Toscana,
Toscana,
Bolletino
Bolletino
d'Arte
d'Arte
del Ministerio
del Ministerio
della della
P. Istruzione,
Istruzione,Anno
AnnoXIII,
XIII,Fasc.
Fasc.
V-VIII
V-VIII
(1919).
(1919).

Buch.
Buch. Paesler,
Paesler,Carl,
Carl,Fundamentbuch
Fundamentbuchconcon
Hans
Hans
(Buchner)
(Buchner)
von von
Constanz,
Constanz,
in Vierteljahrsschrift
in Vierteljahrsschrift
fur fur
Musikwissenschaft,
Musikwissenschaft,VV(1889).
(1889).

Buh.
Buh. Buhle,
Buhle,Edward,
Edward,Die
Diemusikalischen
musikalischenInstrumente
Instrumente
in den
in den
Miniaturen
Miniaturen
des Mittelalters,
des Mittelalters,
Leipzig,
Leipzig,
1903.

Bux. Buxheimer Orgelbuch, as reprinted in Monatshefte fur Musikgeschichte 1887-8, Beilage,

edited by Robert Eitner.

Cab.z Cabezon, Antonio de, Obras de musica, Madrid, 1578, as described in Kink.

Cat. K (Cavazzoni,) Hieronimo de Marcantonio da Bologna detto d'Urbino, Intavolatura, Venice,

1542, in the pieces available in modern reprints, according to Kink.

Cer.s Cerone, Pedro, El Melopeo y Maestro, Naples, 1613, as described in Kink.

DeC. De Caus, Salomon, Les Raisons des Forces Mouvantes ..., Licre troisiesme traitant de la
fabrique des orgues, Frankfort, 1615.

Dir. Diruta, Girolamo, II Transilvano, Venice, 1597-1609.

Gab. IIK Gabrieli, Andrea, Ricercari, Lib. II, Venice, 1595, as described in Kink.

Gab. IIIK Ibid., Lib. III, 1596, as described in Kink.

Huc. Hucbald, De Harmonica Institutione, as interpreted in Gotthold Frotscher, Geschichte des

Orgelspiels und der Orgelkomposition, Berlin, 1935, p. 32.

Ist. Istituzioni e Monumenti dell' Arte Musicale Italiana, VI (1939), Milan.

Jep. Jeppesen, Knud, Die italienische Orgelmusik am Anfang des Cinquecento, Copenhagen, 1943;
the chapter Der klassische Orgelbau in Italien contains a mass of data pertinent to our
subject.

Kink. Kinkeldey, Otto, Orgel und Kladier in der Musik des 16. Jahrhunderts, Leipzig, 1910;
much of the information in Table I comes from this book, and it furnished innumerable
other suggestive hints for this article.

Kins. Kinsky, Georg, Musikhistorisches Museum von Wilhelm Heyer in Cln. Katalog, Band I,
Cologne, 1910.

Kle. Kleber, Leonhard, Book of Organ Tablatures as described in Hans Lowenfeld, Leonhard
Kleber und sein Orgeltabulaturbuch, Berlin, 1897.

Kot.K Kotter, Hans, Book of Organ Tablatures, 1513-1532, as described in Kink. and Bas.

Lan.K Lanfranco, Giovanni Maria, Scintille di Musica, Brescia, 1533, as quoted in Kink.

Mer. IK Merulo, Claudio, Ricercari, Lib. I, Venice, 1567, as described in Kink.

Mer. IIK Ibid., Canzoni d'Intaeolatura d'Organo, Lib. I, Venice, 1592, as described in Kink.

Merk. Merklin, Albert, Aus Spaniens altem Orgelbau, in Zeitschrift fur Instrumentenbau, XLIV
(1923-1924).

Ner. Nerici, Luigi, Storia della Musica in Lucca, Lucca, 1880.

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 Pitch in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 219
SOURCES
SOURCES OF
OFINFORMATION
INFORMATIONCONTAINED
CONTAINEDIN IN
TABLE
TABLE
I (Continued)
I (Continued)

Paix
Paix KK Paix,
Paix,Jakob,
Jakob,Ein
Einschon
schon
nutz
nutz
und
und
gebreuchlich
gebreuchlich
Orgel
Orgel
Tabulatur,
Tabulatur,
Laugingen,
Laugingen,
1583, 1583,
as described
as described
in Kink.

Praet. Praetorius, Michael, Syntagma Musicum, Tomus II, De Organographia, Wolfenbiittel, 1619.

Ram. Ramos de Pareja, Bartolomeo, Musica Practica, Bologna, 1482, as reprinted in Publi-
kationen der Int. Mus. Ges., Beihefte, Folge I, Heft 2, Leipzig, 1901.

Schl. I Schlick, Arnolt, Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten, Mainz, 1511; see Part I of this
article, in Musical Quarterly, XXXIV (1948), pp. 28-45.

Schl. IIK Schlick, Arnolt, Tabulaturen etlicher Lobgesang .... Mainz, 1512, as described in Kink.

Schm. IK Schmid, Bernhard, der Altere, Neue Kunstliche Tabulatur, Strassburg, 1577, as described
in Kink.

Schm. IIK Schmid, Bernhard, der Jiingere, Tabulaturbuch, Strassburg, 1607, as described in Kink.

Schn. Schneider, Thekla, Die Orgelbauerfamilie Compenius, in Archie fur Musikforschung, II

(1937), 8-76.

Ven. K Venegas, Luys, Libro de Cifra Nueoa, Alcala, 1557, as described in Kink.

Vog. Vogeleis, Martin, Quellen und Bausteine zu einer Geschichie der Musik und des Theaters im
Elsass, Strassburg, 1911.

Wan. Wangemann, Otto, Geschichte der Orgel, as quoted in Emile Rupp, Die Entwicklungsge
schichte der Orgelbaukunst, Einsiedeln, 1929, p. 8.

Win. Winternitz, Emanuel, Quattrocento Science in the Gubbio Study, in Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Bulletin, Vol. I, No. 2, October 1942.

Zur. Mitteilungen der antiqu. Ges. Zurich, VIII, as quoted in Hans Joachim Moser, Paul
Hofhaimer, Stuttgart & Berlin, 1929, p. 201.

The table represents, of course, only a generous sampling of the

data an exhaustive search might turn up. Nevertheless, it seems
striking that we do not encounter any pedal compass as large as
Schlick's twelfth until the Hagenau organ of 1501, which was reported
on by Schlick a year before the publication of his Spiegel. The only
previous one approaching that compass is dated 1493 (only 18 years
before Schlick wrote), in which year the organ-builder Conrad
Rotenbiirger added the keys and pipes for "F", "G", "A", and "Bb"
to the manual and pedal keyboards of the Bamberg Cathedral organ,
which he had himself built about 1475 with "Bl" as its lowest tone.
Schlick states (see footnote 26) that "until now few organs have had
any keys above 'bb' in the pedal". Moreover, the Halberstadt Cathe-
dral organ, renovated in 1495, and presumably in use for some time
after that, had a pedal compass of only an octave, as did the Pauliner
Kirche in Leipzig, built some twenty years after Schlick wrote. In
short, we know of only one or two organs actually existing before
about 1580 on which it would have been possible to follow Schlick's

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220 The Musical Quarterly

instructions
instructionsfor forhishis
recommended
recommended pitch.
pitch.
AndAndby 1580,
by 1580,
the new
the new
keyboards
keyboardshad hada acompass
compass
of of
over
over
twotwo
octaves,
octaves,
"C-d"',
"C-d"',
whichwhich
wouldwould
have
have eliminated
eliminatedSchlick's
Schlick's
chief
chief
reason
reason
for for
favoring
favoring
that that
pitch.pitch.
For For
on
on aa keyboard
keyboardextending
extending from
from "C""C"
to "dl",
to "dl",
there
there
wouldwould
be plenty
be plenty
of
of room
roomabove
abovethe theuntransposed
untransposed finals
finals
"D","D",
"E", "E",
"F", "F",
and "G"
andor"G" or
"C".
"C". (A
(A review
reviewofofSchlick's
Schlick's
comparison
comparison of the
of the
treatments
treatments
of theof the
modes
modes atatthe
thetwo
twopitches
pitcheswill
will
showshow
thatthat
almost
almost
nonenone
of hisofconsider-
his consider-
ations
ations are
arevalid
validwhen
when the
thekeyboard
keyboard is thus
is thus
enlarged.)
enlarged.)
Now
Now Praetorius
Praetoriusassociates
associatesthethe
pitch
pitch
he calls
he calls
suitable
suitable
to plainsong
to plainsong
with
with "old"
"old"organs,
organs,organs
organsthat
that
werewere
usedused
"under
"under
Popery"
Popery"
for plain-
for plain-
song
song only
only- -organs
organslike
like
thethe
Halberstadt
Halberstadt one.one.
And And
such such
organs,organs,
as as
we
we have
haveseen,
seen,had
hada compass
a compass
of of
only
only
an octave
an octave
or a or
ninth
a ninth
in theinpedal,
the pedal,
insufficient
insufficientfor
forthe
theplainsong
plainsong
repertory.
repertory.
So we
So must
we must
transfer
transfer
our our
inquiry
inquiryfrom
fromthe
thepedal
pedal
keyboard
keyboard
to the
to the
manuals.
manuals.
There it becomes clear that the contradiction between Schlick
and Praetorius on the proper pitch for plainsong is easily explained.
Schlick, for reasons he sets forth, is talking about a combination of
transposed and untransposed modes whose purpose is mainly to
enable the plainsong melodies to be played on the pedal keyboard
by enlarging the compass of the latter only to a twelfth. Praetorius
does not specify what transpositions were employed at the pitch "a
fourth higher and fifth lower"; but he presumably thinks of the
modes primarily as untransposed. Therefore when Schlick speaks
about the Dorian final as "G" at his recommended pitch he means
the same tone that Praetorius has in mind as the final of the un-
transposed Dorian, "D" or "d", at the pitch a fourth higher or a
'fifth lower.

Praetorius's description of the pitches in use in his day may be

summarized as follows:
He mentions many pitches, defining them mostly in terms of
the pitch prevailing in North German church organs of his day,
which he decides to call chamber pitch. This pitch is commonly
known in his time as choir pitch, he says, but he prefers to reserve
that term for the pitch a tone lower. From the compasses he gives for
the voices and his remarks about the modes, we conclude that his
chamber pitch was within a half-tone of Schlick's recommended one
- i.e., about a minor third higher than al=440. He speaks about
an "old" pitch a fourth higher or a fifth lower than his chamber

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 Pitch in the i6th and Early 17th Centuries - Part II 221

pitch
pitchas being most
as suitable
being for plainsong,
most this being
suitable
within a semi- for plainsong, this
tone
toneof the same
of pitch
thethat Schlick
same considers
pitch
less suitable that
for plain- Schlick considers les
song.
song.The reasonThefor this reason
apparent contradiction
for is that
thisthe narrow
apparent contradiction
compass
compass of Schlick's pedal
ofkeyboard
Schlick's
required the transposition
pedalofkeyboard required th
some
some of the modes,
of whilethe on themodes,
organs to which while
Praetorius refers
on the organs to whic
the
thestill narrower
still compass
narrower
of the pedal keyboard
compass
excluded the possi-
of the pedal keyboar
bility
bilityof playingof
much of
playing
the plainsong repertory
much on the pedal
of attheall, plainsong repertory
while
while the manualthe
keyboard
manual
did not require the
keyboard
transpositions Schlickdid not require the t
describes.

The pitches probably implied by Schlick's and Praetorius's dis-

cussions are shown in Table II.

TABLE II

PITCHES DESCRIBED BY SCHLICK AND PRAETORIUS

"a" would be (I.e., the approximate

approximately difference from a'= 440,
In: equivalent expressed in semitones,
to our: would be:)

Schlick's recommended pitch c1-cl1 +3-4

Schlick's alternative pitch f-f# -3-4

Praetorius's chamber pitch, commonly called, in

Praetorius's own time, "choir pitch" c1-c'l +3-4
Pitch Praetorius considers more desirable for church
organs and actual pitch of Frederiksborg organ,
built 1610 L b-b4 +1-2

Pitch much in use in Praetorius's time in the Neth

lands, Italy, and many Catholic courts of Germany
and earlier in England, as well as by the Flemis
harpsichord-maker Bossus a-b +0-1

Pitch in use in Praetorius's time in Prague and some

other Catholic choirs, there called "choir pitch" Ltb-l- +1-2
Pitch said by Praetorius to have been used in old
organs, for plainsong f-f# or fl.f#l - 3-4 or +8-9

Pitch of Halberstadt organ, according to Praetorius d'-el +5-7

Pitch of St. Blasius in Nordhausen, according to
Praetorius dl-eb +5-6

Pitch of a harpsichord shown in Praetorius's

VI56 f-f# or g-g# -3-4 or -1-2

56 Praetorius says this instrument is pitched "a fourth low

This probably means a fifth lower than his "chamber pitc
sure that he is being entirely consistent in his use of the name

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