From 1450 to about 1800, plucked instrument players ( lutenists and guitarists ) generally favored equal temperament, and the Brossard lute Manuscript compiled in the last quarter of the 17th century contains a series of 18 preludes attributed to Bocquet written in all keys, including the last prelude, entitled " Prelude sur tous les tons ", which enharmonically modulates through all keys.
42.
According to Stasov in an article contributed to the " Vestnik Evropi " in 1883, Borodin told him more than once that in the first movement he wished to depict a gathering of Russian warrior-heroes, in the slow movement the figure of a bayan a type of Russian accordion, and in the finale a scene of heroes feasting to the sound of guslis an ancient plucked instrument.
