Who are you, Christopher Smart?

And the like?

Talking of two-for-the-price-of-one instruments, here's the Italian zampogna bagpipe I mentioned on another thread



A forgotten English invention of the turn of the C19th was the Double Flageolet, patented in 1805, which became hugely popular, largely as an instrument for domestic music-making.  Albums of arrangements of popular songs, pot-pourris from ballets and operas etc appeared for the instrument.  The instrument was produced in descant, treble and tenor versions,  although ony the descant model enjoyed any real popularity (presumably because it was the cheapest, and most suited to younger hands).  Here is a whole flotilla of flageolets, some single and some double, in multiple sizes:



There were even pieces written specially for it, viz:

What was at the back of my mind when I wrote reply #120 was a wonder why anyone would go to such lengths to design and build the quarter-tone double clarinet featured in reply #112 when it was possible to experiment with cross-fingerings and embouchure, or else take a purely pragmatic view and stick to instruments that could already get them.

But I applaud the man who made it. It restores my faith in human nature that someone, unwilling to compromise and knowing that his invention was very unlikely to make him rich, felt that such a venture was worthwhile. I am reminded of the quarter-tone keyboard that appeared somewhere on this MB a while ago. At least such instruments would be accurate and prove that composers were not just looking for some out-of-tune effect, I suppose. And, autoharp, thanks awfully for the very generous comment. I think aaron was picking up on a sentence which I should have checked before posting and which I have now edited.

Well, I thought it was funny.  Anyway, to answer the original question, partially, there is a repertoire dating back about 100 years in quarter- and other equally tempered microtones to be played on standard instruments; the vast majority of the early examples are for strings, of course. Most notable example is a brief passage in Berg's Chamber Concerto, and there are also the works (in third and sixth tones as well) of Alois Haba from around the same time.  Also a couple works (including a famous one by Ives) for quarter-tone-retuned piano.

In more recent decades there has been an explosion of interest in various sorts of small intervals. All the instruments of the orchestra can, given players who know what they are doing, reliably produce microtones (although timbre and digital flexibility may vary), except those (like the harp and tuned percussion) that would need to be retuned for the purpose.  But they often now are.  And as soon as you scratch the surface of the harmonic possibilities of non-chromatic music you get over your head: tempered microintervals, alternate equal temperaments with more than twelve pitches to the octave, just intonation, Pythagorean and other tunings, etc. etc. etc. You think you've seen stylistic squabbles, you ain't seen nuthin' until you've seen microtonalists of various camps go at each other.

Recommended listening, anyone?

http://www.amazon.com/Couperin-LApoth%C3%A9ose-Lulli-Christie-Rousset/dp/B00005B6RN

http://www.amazon.com/Froberger-Ou-lintranquillit%C3%A9-Johann-Jacob/dp/B0000DETAZ/ref=sr_1_24/104-3971321-5248707?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177004130&sr=1-24

http://www.amazon.com/Missa-Cantilena/dp/B000005E50/ref=sr_1_1/104-3971321-5248707?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1177004215&sr=1-1

 


I would imagine that to many listeners, the tunings used in these performances would sound just as much like 'microtonal' tunings as, say, what one would find in Haba, much less someone like Ben Johnston, Grisey, Ferneyhough, Lucier, late 70s/80s Feldman, etc., etc.

[I'll see if I can't find some links to those discs that include sound file excerpts, and will then update this post if I'm successful in my search ...]