January 1, 2007
ISBN: 0393062279
I just read a review of this book in the Wall Street Journal. Written by Ross W. Duffin, this book proposes that musical temperament has had an impact on the way we experience music. Mr. Duffin writes that the way in which musical instruments are almost universally tuned now, dose not conform to the way in which they were tuned at the time many famous composers were creating their music. The book is a short 160 pages, but all the reviews indicate that it is well written and interesting to the music lover. The Wall Street Journal does lament that an accompanying CD was not provided to provide a direct example of how today's music might sound different than intended. The journal did indicate that you could hear an example on Mr. Duffin's website. I have to confess though, his discussion of music theory is a bit beyond my understanding.
While searching for this book online, I found that Amazon.com actually had it on sale for 34% off the cover price, or $17.13. Many other sites had it listed at over $24.00. (Click on picture to see this book at Amazon.com)
