208 5 S, W. Poole.on Perfect Musical Intonation. 
ie ) 
ever the best organist attempts, must be imperfectly 
done. So long “adhe organ is used only as a solo instrument, as 
for a voluntary, a skillful performer is able in some degree to 
cover up the great imperfection in its tune. By great rapidity of 
movement, and incessant and startling transitions from key to key, 
he may divert the ear from criticising the imperfection of the 
chords. ‘Temperament has doubtless done much to form a style, 
so prevalent at present among organ players and composers for 
that instrument—a style neither dignified nor scientific. Or- 
ganists and composers are not to be blamed for this faulty style, 
(ora style which would be faulty, if their instruments could play 
in tune ;) for being unable to obtain legitimate harmony, and sat- 
isfy themselves, or their hearers, with dignified compositions— 
which show most conspicuously the defects of a tempered instru- 
ment—they resort to other expedients to please, and they astonish 
their hearers with remote and wonderful modulations, and feats o 
execution. - 
42. When played with the choir the defects of the organ are 
most perceptible. As the organ usually plays the same parts which 
the choir sing, the singers must temper exactly like the organ— 
which probably no choir was ever trained to do accurately—or 
there will be a continued want of agreement between them. 
perfect major third, a child, who has had no musical instruction, 
will strike most readily and almost unconsciously, for it is in the 
simple ratio of 4: 5, and the ear instantly detects the coincidence 
of the vibrations; but a ¢empered major third, two-thirds of @ 
comms sharp, he knows nothing about; it requires the skill of a 
scientific and well-drilled musician, to give it correctly. If the 
singers could learn to temper with the organ, it would be at the 
sacrifice of that pure harmony which they would make if they 
sung in tune without a tempered accompaniment. The ordina- 
ry agreement, (or rather disagreement, ) between a choir and organ 
accompaniment, can be illustrated to the eye by the following ex- 
ample. We will suppose that an organ, tuned in the equal tem- 
perament, 1s accompanying a choir, when it is singing the com- 
mon chord of C. 
Choir, © E fel Bb 
| : | | a 
Organ, OC I & ee 
The key-note of C will, of course, be the same in the organ 
and the choir. The fifth G, of the organ will be slightly, but 
percetibly, flat, viz., one twelfth of acomma. ‘The third E, of the 
organ, will be very discordant with the choir, being two-thirds of 
acomma sharp. If Bb, in the chord of the seventh, be added, 
the discord will be much greater than in either the fifth or the 
