Kodály: 7 Piano Pieces / 6. Székely nóta. Modified Kirnberger temperament
Kodály was opposed to the use of piano to make the practice of choirs easier. He told that the equal temperament of the piano ruins the pure (unequal) intonation required for chorus music, and even, spoils the ear of choir singers. Kodály knew the old temperaments, and preferred the unequal scale for singing and playing on intonating instruments. Therefore, performing Kodály's piano music in unequal temperament has a strong historical basis! And really, Kodály sounds very beautiful in old temperaments. I think he really had this harmony in his mind. This temperament is a little bit (~10-15%) stronger than the graph suggests, and is a slight modification of Kirnberger III. Here, the C-E major third is 22 cex narrower than in equal temperament, and almost perfect. D-A-E are the narrowest fifths, which structure resembles to Kirnberger II. 8 fifths are almost perfect, though H-F# and C#-G# are 1/23.6 cex narrowened to omit the schisma. C and G fifths sound significantly better than in Kirnberger III, while here only A flat major triad is Pythagorean. In essence, all positive features of Kirnberger III are preserved, but the sound is more comfortable and "round". I am playing; the drawing is by Miklós Borsos, photo taken in 1941 from Fortepan.
Kodály was opposed to the use of piano to make the practice of choirs easier. He told that the equal temperament of the piano ruins the pure (unequal) intonation required for chorus music, and even, spoils the ear of choir singers. Kodály knew the old temperaments, and preferred the unequal scale for singing and playing on intonating instruments. Therefore, performing Kodály's piano music in unequal temperament has a strong historical basis! And really, Kodály sounds very beautiful in old temperaments. I think he really had this harmony in his mind. This temperament is a little bit (~10-15%) stronger than the graph suggests, and is a slight modification of Kirnberger III. Here, the C-E major third is 22 cex narrower than in equal temperament, and almost perfect. D-A-E are the narrowest fifths, which structure resembles to Kirnberger II. 8 fifths are almost perfect, though H-F# and C#-G# are 1/23.6 cex narrowened to omit the schisma. C and G fifths sound significantly better than in Kirnberger III, while here only A flat major triad is Pythagorean. In essence, all positive features of Kirnberger III are preserved, but the sound is more comfortable and "round". I am playing; the drawing is by Miklós Borsos, photo taken in 1941 from Fortepan.