Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Bassoon Links
General:
- Resources and Information for Bassoonists
- International Double Reed Society
- Bassoon Fingering Charts
- The Bubonic Bassoon Quartet, 1962 - 1982: A Retrospective on the Occasion of the Twentieth Anniversary of its Founding by John Miller
- The Art of the Bassoon Wisconsin Public Radio's "University of the Air" hosts an hour long program on the bassoon (RealAudio format).
- Curtal, Dulcian, Bajón - A History of the Precursor to the Bassoon Maggie Kilbey's comprehensive book
- A Few Easy Multiphonics For Bassoon
Standard Orchestral Excerpts for Bassoon
- Béla Bartók : Concerto for Orchestra; the second movement features woodwind instruments in pairs, beginning with the bassoons, and the recapitulation of their duet adds a third instrument playing a staccato counter-melody.
- Ludwig van Beethoven : Symphony 4 in B flat major, Symphony 9 in D minor, last movement
- Hector Berlioz : Symphonie Fantastique (In the fourth movement, there are several solo and tutti bassoon-featuring passages. This piece calls for four bassoons.)
- Paul Dukas : The Sorcerer's Apprentice, widely recognized as used in the movie Fantasia
- Edvard Grieg : In the Hall of the Mountain King
- Carl Orff : Carmina Burana
- Sergei Prokofiev : Peter and the Wolf (possibly the most-recognized bassoon theme, the part of the grandfather)
- Maurice Ravel : Rapsodie Espagnole (features a fast, lengthy dual cadenza at the end of the first movement), Boléro (the bassoon has a high descending solo passage near the beginning), Piano Concerto in G Major
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov : Scheherazade, second movement
- Dmitri Shostakovich : several symphonies including #1, 4, 5 : 8, & 9, Symphony 5 in Eb major
- Igor Stravinsky : The Rite of Spring (opens with a famously unorthodox bassoon solo), lullaby from The Firebird
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky : Symphony 4 in F minor, Symphony 5 in E minor, Symphony 6 in B minor
Standard Concerti for Bassoon
Baroque
- Antonio Vivaldi wrote 37 concerti for bassoon
- Georg Philipp Telemann Sonata in F minor
Classical
- Johann Christian Bach, Bassoon Concerto in B flat, Bassoon Concerto in E-flat major
- Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Bassoon Concerto in F, W75
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bassoon Concerto in B flat, K191
- Carl Stamitz, Bassoon Concerto in F Major
- Johann Baptist Vanhal, Bassoon in C Major, Concerto in F Major for two bassoons and orchestra
Romantic
- Carl Maria von Weber, Andante e rondo ungarese in C minor, op. 35; Bassoon Concerto in F, op. 75
- Camille Saint-Saëns, Sonata for bassoon and piano in G Major, op. 168
Contemporary
- Luciano Berio, Sequenza XII for Bassoon (1995)
- Edward Elgar, Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra, op. 62
- Alvin Etler, Sonata for Bassoon and Piano
- Hindemith, Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (1938)
- Gordon Jacob, Concerto for Bassoon, Strings and Percussion, Four Sketches for Bassoon, Partita for Bassoon
- Francesco Mignone, Double Bassoon Sonata, 16 valses for Bassoon
- Willson Osborne, Rhapsody for Bassoon
- John Steinmetz, Sonata for Bassoon and Piano
- Richard Strauss, Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon with strings and harp (1948)
- John Williams, The Five Sacred Trees: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (1997)
The Modern Reed
The following information comes from Wikipedia:
Bassoon reeds, made of Arundo donax cane, are generally made by the players themselves. Reeds begin with a piece of cane that has been left to dry. The cane is then cut and gouged into smooth strips, leaving the bark attached. After soaking, the strip of cane is cut into the desired thickness, or profiled. This can be done by hand; it is more frequently done with a machine or tool designed for the purpose. It is then cut to the correct outline, or shaped. Making sure the cane is thoroughly soaked, to avoid cracking, the profiled and shaped strip of cane is folded over in the middle. The outer edges, where the bark remains after profiling, are secured by three coils of wire at 2 mm and 8 mm from the beginning of the blade, and 6 mm from the bottom. The flat piece of cane is placed on a long, thin mandrel and pressed fimrmly around it to form into the proper shape, until the bottom of the reed is rounded enough to fit securely on the end of the bocal.
After the reed has dried, the wires are tightened around the reed, which has shrunk after drying. The lower part is sealed (generally with rubber cement or epoxy) and then wrapped with string to ensure both that no air leaks out through the bottom of the reed and that the reed maintains its shape.
To finish the reed, first, the tip (previously the center of the strip of cane) is cut, so that the blades above the bark are roughly 27 mm long. The reed is then scraped with a knife until it has the proper profile, which has a thin tip leading to a thicker back section, and the "spine" going lengthwise down the center also thick. Specific measurements differ from player to player and instrument to instrument. The very tip of a reed blade is frequently only 0.1 mm thick.
As the style of reed desired varies a great deal from player to player, most advanced players will make their own reeds in order to customize them to their own individual playing style, and almost all will be familiar with the process of making one. However, several companies offer premade reeds, and several individuals also produce reeds for sale, some specializing in this over playing.
How a Bassoon is Constructed
The following information is derived from Wikipedia:
The bassoon disassembles into six main pieces, including the reed. The bell (6), extending upward; the long (or bass) joint (5), connecting the bell and the boot; the boot (or butt) (4), at the bottom of the instrument and folding over on itself; the wing (or tenor) joint (3), which extends from boot to bocal; and the bocal (or crook) (2), a crooked metal tube which attaches the wing joint to the reed, which is held in the mouth. (1) (listen ).
The modern bassoon is generally made of maple, with medium-hardness types such as sycamore maple and sugar maple being preferred. Less-expensive models are also made out of materials such as polypropylene and ebonite, primarily for student and outdoor use; metal bassoons were made in the past but have not been in production by any major manufacturer since 1889. The bore of the instrument is conical, like that of the oboe and the saxophone, and the bottom of the instrument connects the bore in the middle with a u-shaped metal connector. Both bore and holes are precision-machined, and each instrument is finished by hand for proper tuning. The walls of the instrument are sufficiently thick that the finger holes are drilled obliquely to aid in fingering, and wooden instruments are lined with a hard rubber lining along the interior of the wing and boot joints to prevent damage from moisture with extensive playing; wooden instruments are also stained and varnished. The top of the bell is frequently completed with a ring, often of plastic or ivory. The separate joints, where they connect, are wrapped in either cork or string, to aid sealing against air leaks. The bocal, which is inserted into the top of the wing joint and has one end wrapped in cork for sealing, may come in many different lengths, depending on the desired tuning.
Folded upon itself, the bassoon stands 134 cm (4.4 feet) tall, but the total length is 254 cm (roughly 8.3 feet). Playing is facilitated by doubling the tube back on itself and by closing the distance between the widely-spaced holes with a complex system of keywork, which extends throughout nearly the entire length of the instrument. There are also short-reach bassoons made for the benefit of young or petite players.
Bassoon players must learn three different clefs: Bass (first and foremost), Tenor, and Treble. The range of the bassoon begins at B-flat1 (the first one below the bass staff) and extends upward over three octaves. Higher notes are possible but difficult to produce and rarely called for; orchestral parts rarely go higher than the C or D, with even Stravinsky's famously difficult opening solo in The Rite of Spring only ascending to the D. The low A at the bottom of the range first appeared in Wagner’s Tristan (1865) and is only possible with a special extension to the instrument. This extension can take the form of an extra, longer replacement bell (with additional keywork on the long joint) or a paper tube, English horn bell, or similar extension placed in the bassoon's Bb bell. Wagner frequently used low A in his operas and encouraged Heckel to construct instruments with low A capability and the A bell still exists as an option. While the extra bell preserves chromatic possibilities, the simpler alternatives make the bottom B-flat impossible to play and affect the intonation of the lower notes. The last chord of the 1922 Quintet for Winds by Carl Nielsen includes an optional low A and Gustav Mahler occasionally uses it in his symphonies.
Buffett System
The following information comes from Wikipedia:
The Buffet system bassoon, which stabilized somewhat earlier than the Heckel, developed in a more conservative manner. While the development of the Heckel bassoon can be characterized as a complete overhaul of the instrument in both acoustics and keywork, the Buffet system focused primarily on incremental improvements to the keywork. This less radical approach deprives the Buffet system bassoon of the improved consistency, and thus ease of operation and increased power, found in the Heckel bassoons, but the Buffet is considered by some to have a more vocal and expressive quality. (Conductor John Foulds in 1934 lamented the dominance of the Heckel-style bassoon, considering them to be too homogeneous in sound with the horn.)
Compared to the Heckel bassoon, Buffet system bassoons have a narrower bore and differing keywork; the Buffet instruments are known for a reedier sound and greater facility in the upper registers, reaching e''' and f''' with far greater ease and less air pressure. While specifically desirable in some music (French woodwind players traditionally produce a lighter and more reedy tone than is usual elsewhere) the more reedy sound has sometimes drawn criticism for being too distinctive. As with all bassoons the tone varies substantially from instrument to instrument and performer to performer. The Heckel system can sound rather fixed and woody, but good players strive and usually succeed in producing a warm singing tone. The Buffet can sound reedy, but many good players strive and usually succeed in producing a warm, expressive sound which is not in the least reedy.
Though the French system was once widely favored in England, Buffet instruments are no longer made there, and the last prominent English player of the French system retired in the 1980s. However, with its continued use in some regions and its distinctive tone, the Buffet continues to have a place in modern bassoon playing, particularly in France. Buffet-model bassoons are currently made in Paris by Buffet Crampon and Selmer, with various other makers producing replica instruments. Some players, e.g. Gerald Corey in Canada, have learned to play both types and will alternate between them depending on the repertoire being played.
Heckel System
The following information cones from Wikipedia:The design of the modern bassoon owes a great deal to the performer, teacher, and composer Carl Almenräder, who, assisted by the German acoustic researcher Gottfried Weber developed the 17-key bassoon whose range spanned four octaves. Almenräder's improvements to the bassoon began with an 1823 treatise in which he described ways of improving intonation, response, and technical ease of playing by means of augmenting and rearranging the keywork; subsequent articles further developed his ideas. Working at the Schott factory gave him the means to construct and test instruments according to these new designs, the results of which were published in Caecilia, Schott's house journal; Almenräder continued publishing and building instruments until his death in 1843, and Ludwig van Beethoven himself requested one of the newly-made instruments after hearing of the papers. Almenräder left Schott to start his own factory along with partner J.A. Heckel in 1831.
Heckel and two generations of descendants continued to refine the bassoon, and it is their instrument that has become the standard for other instrument makers to follow. Because of their superior singing tone quality (an improvement upon one of the main drawbacks of the Almenräder instruments), the Heckel instruments competed for prominence with the reformed Wiener system, a Boehm-style bassoon, and a completely-keyed instrument devised by C. J. Sax, father of Adolphe Sax. One latecomer attempt, from 1893, with a logical reformed fingering system was implemented by F.W. Kruspe, but failed to catch on. Other attempts at improving the instrument included a 24-keyed model and a single-reeded mouthpiece, but both were found to have adverse effects on the bassoon's distinctive tone and were abandoned.
Coming into the 20th century the Heckel-style German model of bassoon dominated the field; Heckel himself had made over 4000 instruments by the turn of the century, and the English makers' instruments were no longer desirable for the changing pitch requirements of the symphony orchestra, remaining primarily in military band use.
Today the Heckel factory continues producing instruments (after a brief 1940s wartime conversion to ball-bearing manufacture) and Heckel bassoons are considered by many the best, although a range of different manufacturers exist, all with different modifications to their bassoons. Companies that manufacture bassoons are (among others): Heckel, Yamaha, Fox Products, Schreiber, Püchner, Signet, Moosmann, Kohlert, B.H. Bell. and Guntram Wolf. There are also several smaller bassoon manufacturers that make special instruments to fit special needs. In the 1960s the Englishman Giles Brindley began preliminary development of what he called the "logical" bassoon, which aimed to improve intonation and evenness of tone through use of electrically activated key combinations that were too complex for the human hand to manage.
Early History
The following information comes from Wikipedia:
The bassoon was developed from its precursor, most often referred to as the dulcian, a wooden instrument all in one piece. Used and developed greatly in the 16th century to add a stronger bass to the wind band then consisting largely of shawms and recorders, the dulcian's origins are unknown. Scattered evidence exists for its creation at various places and times, and few early examples survive. There were eventually eight members of the dulcian family of varying size, from soprano down to bass ranges. The early dulcian had many similarities to the modern bassoon: though generally constructed of only a single piece of wood rather than sections, it too consisted of a conical bore that doubled back on itself at the bottom, with a curved metal crook leading from the instrument body to the reed. It was, like the modern instrument, frequently constructed of maple, with thick walls to allow finger-holes to be drilled obliquely, with its bell flared slightly at the end. However, there were only eight finger-holes and two keys. The dulcian later evolved into the curtal, which featured separate joints like a modern bassoon, and gained an extra key.
Some twentieth century music scholars believed this instrument resembling a bundle of sticks, hence it was given the name "fagotto", in 16th century Italy. However, this etymology is incorrect: The term "fagotto" was in use for the bassoon before the word was used for "bundle of sticks"; also, when the term first appeared, the resemblance did not exist, as the instrument at that time was carved out of one continuous block of wood (Jansen 1978). The origin of this name is therefore a mystery. (A dance also named "fagot" dates to a century earlier.) The instrument was constructed folded back on itself, as it is to this day (giving it the name in some regions "curtal", as it was shortened significantly). The English name of "bassoon" comes from a more general term referring to the bass register of any instrument, but after Henry Purcell's call for a "bassoon" in Dioclesian (1690) referring to the wooden double reed, the word began to be used to refer to this instrument in particular.
The evolution of the early dulcian into the modern bassoon is also without precise record; the dulcian continued to be used into the 18th century (and in Spain, into the early 20th). A German painting, "Der Fagottspieler", in the Suermondt Museum, which scholars date to the end of the 17th century, depicts the bassoon much as it appears in its current form, and a three-keyed bassoon has been dated to 1699. It was the Dutch maker Coenraad Rijkel whose addition of the G key for the little finger of the right hand, just after the turn of the 18th century, fixed the hand position to the current standard; previously, the instrument could be played with either hand on top. The early bassoon flourished in the Netherlands in the late 17th and early 18th century, with over half a dozen prominent woodwind makers developing the instrument. Today, only thirty-three bassoons from that era survive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
