Quote:
Originally Posted by warrrreagl
I completely disagree with this. The conversion to equal temperament (tuning so that the octave is divided into 12 equal half steps) at the end of the Renaissance meant that the keyboard could remain in tune with the other instruments no matter what key they were in, and this was like letting Pandora out of the box. The Baroque was loaded with music that changed keys all over the place, specifically because they were finally able to do so and remain in tune.
Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier was two volumes of keyboard pieces in each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys, which forced the performer to switch to equal temperament in order to be able to play each volume.
The advent of equal temperament also meant that chromatic music was available, and they experimented with that like crazy, too. The Baroque composers and consumers loved dissonances and modulations galore.
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This is different from a larger piece or anything from WTC. It's an excercise based on form rather than key, and as such, has dissonances that wouldn't have played well to the public. If it was for Frederick the Great, then it makes more sense. It's fun for a musician to share with a musician, just like one of my fellow composition students who composed a piece to be lit on fire as she played it.