Quick answer: there was no single historical pitch. Baroque A ranged from about 392 Hz in France to about 465 Hz on German organs; period ensembles now use A = 415 Hz by convention, a semitone below 440. Handel’s 1751 fork gives A = 422.5 Hz, France fixed 435 Hz in 1859, and A = … Continue reading Historical Pitch Standards: From Baroque A=415 to Modern A=440 Hz