Bach: demonstration of piano in Lehman's 'Bach' temperament

Описание: Here I discuss and demonstrate the tuning system rediscovered by Brad Lehman, thought to have been invented by Bach as one way to tune keyboard instruments so that they were playable in every major and minor key, before the much later widespread use of equal temperament. The Lehman tuning allows the pianist to appreciate pieces from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in a new way, with subtle changes audible from key to key, although due to the very different piano from Bach's time it cannot said to be authentic. For more information see www.larips.com
Useful graphs comparing the properties of intervals in both equal and Lehman temperament can also be accessed at www.unequaltemperament.com.
Further examples of the temperament are to be found in parts of my ongoing Well-Tempered Clavier recordings on YouTube, in the keys of C#, E and also the F minor fugue, here:    • Bach: Fugue in F minor (Well-Tempered Clav...  
The claim made about bagpipes in the Prelude in E major might seem a bit far-fetched. Bach's representation is not like the raucous pipes and drums sometimes found in Scarlatti, but nods to a tradition of gentler pastoral pieces based on drones - perhaps pipes heard at a distance (and bagpipes come in all shapes, sizes and levels of noisiness). The drone aspect of the bagpipe is heard even more strongly in the organ 'Pastorella' BWV 590 (also in 12/8 metre) where the organ pedal notes provide very long-sounding drones. See this video where Bowyer uses a suitably bagpipe-like reed sound:    • Kevin Bowyer plays Bach's Pastorella in F,...  
The same drone topic is used elsewhere in baroque music in the depiction of country scenes, for example in Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' (and later in Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, also in F). Whether bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy or fiddle, reference to some sort of drone instrument adds a rustic character, combined with the folk-style melody, and the coarseness of the style (to the ears of a musician like Bach) is also perhaps parodied in a good-humoured way with the whining, slightly off-sounding (in E major, at least) chromaticism discussed. The piece certainly sounds a little more rough and ready in E major than in F major. Admittedly the effects are subtle, though more evident hearing the piano in situ than from the microphones. Listening with headphones and good sound hardware assists in hearing the differences.