God and music

 All over the world, when people turn to God, they do so not only in words, but also in music and dance. Music is as important as words in all liturgies and ceremonies, but singing together creates a reverent atmosphere that multiplies the power of prayer. Is it possible that it is music that can open wide the gates of Heaven on Earth? As a believing musician, is it not my duty to use a tuning system that supports and helps this process of quieting and turning inward? Who could be the composer who could show me the way? The answer was obvious to me: Johann Sebastian Bach.

  When we look at the different tuning systems from this perspective, Equal temperament does not perform very well, as it gives a feeling of being compressed and closed in due to the many quint constrictions. The ear and brain have to compensate constantly, which is quite tiring. Of course, we don't notice this until we are used to it and have tried other solutions.

 While interpreting Bach's music, I had several experiences that I would call spiritual, which led me to draw closer to God. Perhaps Bach himself considered the tuning and composition of the two cycles so important because he found a tuning system that, in addition to the wonderful musical experience,  includes the prayers to God of the chorales and cantatas in the sound system itself? It is unquestionable to me that he considered the question important, since the two volumes of the Wohltemperierttes Klavier contain 2*24=48 extremely demanding compositions. It was the realisation that led me, and perhaps many others, to try to find the temperament he used, for I believed that if anyone knew where the path to God through music led, it was Johann Sebastian Bach himself. 

I have experimented a lot with the known historic temperaments, but I have not found any of them satisfactory, because in this day and age, perfect usability of 12 tones is, in my opinion, a basic requirement. (One of my favourites is the Kirnberger III. It was here that I first experienced the increase in volume due to the interference of individual notes.) The way of thinking that was followed produced excellent results, but it did not meet my objectives. So I took a different path. Not by myself at all, but thanks to an inspiration from outside!