Bassoon
Tuning: C
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Les Musiciens a l'orchestre (1872) Edgar Degas, Musée du Louvre, Paris
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Bassoon (fagott)
The Bassoon (fagott) is the bass instrument of woodwinds. The meaning of its Italian name, fagotto, is "a bundle of canes", for its length (stretched out) - 10 feet - requires the cane's folded structure. The double mouthpiece, common to both bassoon and the oboe family, is on top of the metal pipe attached to the cane. The instrument was invented in the 16th century, but received its matching systems of leverages and stops in the 19th century, by Thoebald Bohm. Throughout history, bassoons in different sizes were built, among which is the particularly well known double bassoon (contrabasson), larger in size and lower in pitch by an octave.
The low pitch sounds of the bassoon gave it serious bass parts, yet rapid staccato playing clears out what gave it the nickname "the orchestra's clown". Paul Dukas used is to describe the image of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice", and Prokofiev deployed it for the grandfather's figure in "Peter and the Wolf". Weber wrote his Concerto in F, Op. 75, for the bassoon soloist.



Composers


Prokofiev


Weber






Painting
Les Musiciens a l'orchestre (1872) Edgar Degas, Musée du Louvre, Paris


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