It is not surprising that the downloadable samples match well to 2/7 comma
meantone, since the website you download them from says:

*"There are two downloads provided: one with the original tuning (a=415)
and temperament (MeanTone), another converted to equal tempered at a=440 so
you can via software apply other tunings and temperaments. *

*(link) Download (equal temperament, a=440)*
<http://www.casacota.cat/samplesets/hauslaib_1590/hauslaib_1590.rar> (174
MB)
*(link) Download (Meantone 2/7 temperament, a=415, original)*
<http://www.casacota.cat/samplesets/hauslaib_1590/Hauslaib_1590_415_MeanTone.rar>
(166 MB)

Can we understand why one website says '.. *a Renaissance musical
instrument which has reached our days without alterations of its original
timbre, arrangement and tuning.' *but in another place we see '*The large
number of tunings had it made impossible to ascertain the original
temperament*.'

?

I would actually say yes.  What it probably means by 'no alteration of the
original tuning' is that the pipes have not been re-cut or lengthened.  So,
the pitch standard has not been deliberately changed and any variation away
from the original pitches is within expected 'random' variations due to
age, temperature/humidity changes, warping of materials [which should be
pretty small for an instrument of this sort] etc.  This is in contrast to
an instrument which has been completely retuned to a different pitch
standard.

However, the exact tuning is not determined by just the pipe lengths -
various other adjustments have to be made (to counteract 'random' changes
over time) to achieve a playable temperament and tuning at any given time.
So, this has been done many times over the years.

However (again) the amount of 'adjustment' that is done in the course of
routine tuning is IMO very unlikely to change the pitch standard by any
large fraction of a semitone, and also will not be enough to change the
temperament very considerably.  For instance if the original temperament
*was* 1/4 or 2/7 comma meantone I doubt it could be changed to 12-equal (or
vice versa) just by routine tuning adjustments.

However (yet again) there is *not* much difference between the pitches of
1/4 comma and and 2/7 comma meantone, so IMO there is no hope to determine
if an original tuning had been one rather than the other.  We then have to
think that 2/7 comma is the restorers' best guess as to a rather uncertain
original tuning.

Best,
~~~T~~~

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