The Curious Story of Low Pitch at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

Smith, Anne

Although it is well-known that pitch was not standardized before the 19th century, in the world of early music A415 Hz ‒ referred to as low pitch and exactly one tempered semitone below the international chamber pitch established in 1939 ‒ came to hold sway. Taking the history of pitch at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis as a case study, this article seeks to illustrate how cultural, pragmatic, and marketing factors from outside of the world of music, apart from actual historical considerations themselves, came to play a significant role in the acceptance of A415 Hz as the standard early music pitch. Since the nature of the decision-making factors does not support the aura of “authenticity” that A415 Hz has enjoyed for many years, an examination of these factors will hopefully lead to a more open attitude to choice of pitch for music of earlier eras, without banning the pragmatic convenience either of A415 or A440 Hz.

Basel, 2020

https://www.forschung.schola-cantorum-basiliensis.ch/de/forschung/ina-lohr-project/smith-low-pitch.html

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Ina Lohr (1903–1983)

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Open Access Publikationen - Schola Cantorum Basiliensis - Open Access Publikationen Open Access Publikationen - Schola Cantorum Basiliensis HSM-Datenbanken catalog - mediathek catalog - SCB catalog - Network catalog - Artistic catalog - Education catalog - HSM catalog - HGK catalog - Open

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.26254/1w-7ptn-n1wf
DateAdded: 2026-03-25T14:25:49Z
DateModified: 2026-06-16T13:50:57Z
Key: 92CWSN87
PublicationTitle: Forschungsportal Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

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The Curious Story of Low Pitch at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

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The Curious Story of Low Pitch at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

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