A history of performing pitch

the long version

"A History of Performing Pitch: The Story of "A" is the first complete look at the historical pitch standards used by musicians over the course of the last four centuries, attaching frequency values to pitch names and detailing where, when, and why various historical pitch levels have been used. Surveying a period from the sixteenth century to the present with a focus on Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Habsburg Lands, the author examines the developments in the design and function of instruments and how they influenced and were influenced by pitch changes. The pitches of nearly 1,400 historical instruments are covered, including cornets, Renaissance flutes, traversos, recorders, clarinets, organs, pitchpipes, and automatic instruments from all over Europe.". "The author also examines what effect pitch differences had on musical notation and choice of key, discussing practical considerations musicians would have had to make when transposing, especially with regard to the range of singers' voices.". "Written since the rise of the early music revival, this study provides a new source of empirical information not previously available, allowing the author to base his conclusions on a much larger and more relevant sample than has ever before been possible. While this study avoids categorical answers where historical information is not yet sufficient to justify them, it locates a number of historical pitch levels, discovers several that were previously unnoticed, and disproves several common myths about pitch."--BOOK JACKET.