In what register does the bassoon sound? Bassoon - musical instrument - history, photo, video

Varieties of bassoon

At different times, several varieties of bassoon were created:

• quartbassoon- a large bassoon, with the same volume in writing, but sounding a perfect quart lower than written;
• bassoon (quintbassoon or small bassoon) - an instrument that sounded a fifth higher than the written notes;
• - the only type of bassoon that has survived to this day.

Bassoon playing technique

In general terms, the technique of playing the bassoon resembles that of oboe, however, the breath on the bassoon is spent faster due to its large size. The staccato bassoon is clear and sharp. Jumps of an octave or more are good. Changing registers is almost invisible.

The bassoon technique is most characterized by alternating melodic phrases of medium breathing with various shades of scale-like passages and arpeggios, mainly in a staccato presentation and using various leaps.

Video: Bassoon on video + sound

Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch a real game on it, listen to its sound, and feel the specifics of the technique.

Bassoon is a reed wind musical instrument, translated from Italian it means “faggot or knot.” It belongs to the class of musical instruments made of wood.

Bassoon range and registers

The lower register is distinguished by a thick and strong sonority of a formidable character

The middle register has a dull, soft and weaker sound

The upper register sounds soft, gentle and at the same time somewhat compressed and tense

The reed wind device was constructed in Italy, approximately in the 6th century (approximately in the twenties - thirties), during the great Baroque era. At first, the invention of the bassoon was attributed to the clergyman Afranio del Albonesi, who was believed to have combined two musical wind instruments (exactly what, it is assumed) by adding a bellows to them, after which the invention was called phagotus, but as it turned out over time, the musical instrument created by the cleric had a common There was almost nothing with the real bassoon, and in essence it was an ordinary, simple bagpipe, additionally equipped with metal reeds, but the name of the real creator is unknown. However, it is known that the current bassoon appeared thanks to the reconstruction of an ancient instrument called bombard, and some also called it “pommer”. The bombard, itself a large instrument, was divided into two separate parts to make it easier to manufacture and transport. The changes made to the design not only simplified creation, storage and transportation, but also had a beneficial effect on the timbre itself and, as a result, a new, completely new musical instrument appeared. Due to the change in sound timbre, the bassoon was first called “dulcian”, which is translated from Italian as “sweet and tender”. Then the bellows pipes were removed from the bassoon. This reconstruction was carried out by the master of musical instruments Sigismund Sheltser at the beginning of the 17th century. However, despite its “gentle” name, the instrument was completely different from the current concept of a gentle sound, but if we talk about how unpleasantly the bombard wheezed and growled in that period, then the new bassoon, which had experienced innovations in improving its complex mechanism, really should have seemed "soft" contemporaries. The Baroque instrument was rarely used for playing in a symphony orchestra. Starting from the end of the 7th century, at the beginning of the 8th century, the bassoon began to be used in Russia, especially often played solo for classical musical works. Michael Praetorius, a famous musical writer of the Middle Ages, in his description of this musical instrument gave five independent varieties of bassoon at that time, and, interestingly enough, the bassoons of that time were quite similar in appearance to modern musical instruments. At the end of the 18th century, the bassoon had already come into widespread use in all cities of Germany, in particular in military garrisons. This is the history of the bassoon until the 18th century. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, the subsequent development of the bassoon began with lightning speed. Some invented new things, others immediately added something of their own, others developed and improved it. And such a cycle existed until the fifties. Then the then famous master Eugene Jeancourt, together with Buffay and Crampon, made the most significant change in the design of the bassoon. And it is to them that we can bow down for a modern, completely perfect bassoon.

Bassoon in music.

From the beginning of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century, the bassoon very quickly began to acquire its place in various musical genres and compositions. Thus, the very first solo performance of the bassoon was recorded in a fantasy from the collection Canzoni, fantasie et correnti created by Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde. This work was first presented in Venice, and the bassoon was given a complex part. Especially considering that he only had two valves, and he needed to play in a range that was extended down to the B-flat counteroctave. Beginning in the 18th century, the improved bassoon was included in the permanent composition of opera orchestras. Because of the humorous, playful sound of the staccato notes of the bassoon, Glinka used the bassoon in his world-famous opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. Then he sensually showed Farlaf's cowardly character. The alternating staccato of two overlapping bassoons played a very significant role in conveying the character of the cowardly hero. And this is not the last time the bassoon was used in operas... Also, sometimes the bassoon could sound tragic. Thus, in Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the bassoon plays a heavy, mournful solo, accompanied by the sound of double basses. In some of Shostakovich's symphonies, the bassoon also acquired drama and dynamism, sometimes being cheerful and sometimes completely sad. In the music of foreign authors, the bassoon was heard by Haydn and J.S. Bach; I.G.Graun, I.G.Mütel and K.Graupner wrote concertos for the bassoon, where the full potential of this instrument was fully revealed. One of the most frequently played works for bassoon was Mozart's concerto (Concerto in B major or B major). One of the important components of the history of the bassoon are the 39 concertos created by Antonio Vivaldi. The solo parts written by Vivaldi for the instrument surprise with their quick transitions and leaps from one register to another, long continuous episodes and virtuoso passages, because such techniques came into wide use only with the improvement of the instrument several decades later. The structure of the new bassoon: The bassoon looks like a curved long tube (the keys are located on it), it has a valve system and a double reed, mounted on a metal tube made in the shape of the letter “S”.


It is this tube that connects the main body of the instrument to the reed.

The secret to playing this instrument is that you need to exhale very quickly and forcefully. The design of the bassoon itself is curved three times, but if it is unfolded, its total length will be at least 6 meters in length. Modern bassoons are most often made from light maple wood, then the valves are strengthened on it and small holes are drilled. This process is very painstaking, because it is necessary to drill a hole very narrowly, while gradually widening it towards the end, so that the output is a hollow-conical section.

When played, the bassoon has an expressive timbre; in its full range it is rich in overtones. The middle and lower registers of the instrument are most often used. As for the top notes, they have a more compressed and nasal sound. Today, there are two models of wind instruments, the bassoon itself, and one of its varieties - the contrabassoon, which has an identical design, but sounds one octave lower.

An ordinary bassoon has a volume of three octaves and a little, starting with the “B-flat counter” and ending with the “D-second” octave, but still the musicians manage to extract the necessary notes, despite the fact that this is dangerous, especially during a concert.
The sound of the resulting octaves is dull and unpleasant. The sound timbre of a bassoon directly depends on the register of sound reproduction. With the advent of the bassoon wind instrument, classical music acquired expressiveness and became richer in overtones.

Some interesting facts about the bassoon - a musical instrument:

So how do you learn to play the bassoon?

Listen to what Bassoon sounds like
Masahito Tanaka - Variations pour basson seul sur un th_me de Paganini

The warmth of the tree flows into my hands.
The valves, shining, call me to play.
Gently lips wrapped around the cane - and sounds
Floated low at dawn
The fingers came to life, conjuring over the bassoon.
No score is complicated

If only one concern lives in you -
Convey to the Other what the soul is full of.
Daily work and long-awaited hour:
I feel us whole at the concert.
Solo Bassoonist is a magnet for all hearts,
Catharsis for the audience The musician creates!

Oksana Efremova

Tobias Stimmer (1539 – 1584) The bassoon player

Denis van Alsloot (c.1570–c.1626) Musicians taking part in The Ommeganck in Brussels on 31st May 1615 (detail)

Denis van Alsloot (c.1570–c.1626) Curtal. Procession in Brussels (detail)

Harmen Hals (1611-1669) Retratos fagotísticos

Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten (1630–1700) Still life with musical instruments

Seventeenth century. Bassoon maker

Jakob Horemans (1700 –1776) The Munich bassoonist Felix Reiner

A fresco above the organ loft in Vienna"s Peterskirche (St. Peter"s church) depicts cherubs playing trombone and bassoon (1715)

Nicolas Henri Jeurat de Bertry (1728-1796) Musical instruments and scores on a draped table

Thomas Webster (1800–1886) The Village Choir

Edgar Degas (1834-1917) l "Orchestre de l" Opéra

Hermann Kern (1838-1912)

Gerard Portielje (1856 – 1929) The Bassoon Player

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) Pour Toi!… (Désiré Dihau with his Bassoon)

Bassoon (Italian fagotto, lit. “knot, bundle, bundle of firewood”, German Fagott, French basson, English bassoon) is a woodwind instrument of bass, tenor and partly alto register. It looks like a bent long tube with a system of valves and a double (like an oboe) reed, which is put on a metal tube (“es”) in the shape of the letter S, connecting the reed to the main body of the instrument. When disassembled, it resembles a bundle of firewood (hence its name).
The bassoon was designed in the 16th century in Italy. Its immediate predecessor was an ancient wind instrument called the bombarda. In contrast, the bassoon was divided into several parts for ease of manufacture and transportation. The change in design had a beneficial effect on the timbre of the instrument, which was reflected in its name - at first it was called “dulcian” (from Italian dolce - “gentle, sweet”). The bassoon has been used in the orchestra since the late 17th - early 18th centuries, and took a permanent place in it by the end of the 18th century. The timbre of the bassoon is very expressive and rich in overtones throughout the entire range. The lower and middle registers of the instrument are most common; the upper notes sound somewhat nasal and compressed. The bassoon is used in symphony orchestras, less often in brass orchestras, and also as a solo and ensemble instrument.

In a symphony orchestra, two, rarely three, bassoons are used, even less often - four, sometimes the last of them can be replaced in accordance with the score by a contrabassoon.
At different times, several varieties of bassoon were created. Kvartfagot is a smaller bassoon, with the same volume according to the letter, but sounding a perfect quart higher than what is written. Quintbassoon - a smaller bassoon, sounding a fifth higher than written. Fagotino is an instrument that sounded an octave higher than what was written.
The use of high bassoons is limited these days. In Western Europe, they are often used to teach children and have simplified mechanics.
Of the varieties of bassoon, only the contrabassoon has been preserved in modern orchestral practice - an instrument sounding an octave lower than what was written.

Gek Tessaro (1957-) Bassoon Stuff

Zhana Viel (1981-) Bassoon Player

Andrei Kovalev. Bassoon. Study in Red

Andrei Kovalev. Clarinet & Bassoon

Betsy Brydon K. Self Portrait experiment in cubism. Playing the bassoon

Lithe-Fider (1987?-) Nematode Bassoon Player

Jenna Ericson Bunny Bassoon Portrait

Nathan Durfee The bassoon boy in stages

Wendy Edelson. Moonlight, Candy Canes and Frogs

Patrick Larrivee. My portrait

Terje Ronnes. The Bassoonist

Mary Paquet (?) Bassoon Rhythms

Sera Knight. Basoon Player

And a bit of humor:
A Baboon Plays Bassoon From Balloons by antarcticpip

Fagot (Italian fagotto, lit. “knot, bundle, bundle”, German Fagott, French basson, English bassoon) is a reed woodwind musical instrument of bass, tenor and partly alto register. It looks like a bent long tube with a system of valves and a double (like an oboe) reed, which is put on a metal tube (“es”) in the shape of the letter S, connecting the reed to the main body of the instrument. It got its name because when disassembled it resembles a bundle of firewood.

Bassoon instrument

The bassoon was designed in the 16th century in Italy, used in the orchestra from the late 17th - early 18th centuries, and took a permanent place in it by the end of the 18th century. The timbre of the bassoon is very expressive and rich in overtones throughout the entire range. The lower and middle registers of the instrument are most common; the upper notes sound somewhat nasal and compressed. The bassoon is used in symphony orchestras, less often in brass orchestras, and also as a solo and ensemble instrument.

"Peter and the Wolf", which was discussed in the story dedicated to the leitmotif. All the characters in this fairy tale are portrayed by various musical instruments: clarinet, oboe, strings... Prokofiev selected the timbre to characterize each character that most vividly depicts him.

The role of the grandfather in the musical fairy tale is “performed” by the bassoon. Grandfather should probably have a low, grumbling voice (older people love to grumble at their grandchildren!), maybe a little hoarse. Bassoon fits this role perfectly.

The bassoon appeared at the beginning of the 16th century, and from the end of the 17th century it became a permanent participant in orchestras and wind ensembles. It has existed in its modern form since the beginning of the 19th century.

The bassoon is the lowest sounding of the woodwind instruments (only the contrabassoon sounds even lower than it). The tube that contains the air is very long, and therefore it would be impossible to play it like a flute or clarinet. A solution was found: the tube was “folded in half.” The range of the bassoon is from B-flat counteroctave to E of the second octave, the timbre is thick and rough in the lower register.

Very fast, technically complex passages on the bassoon are difficult to play. But still the bassoon is quite mobile. Often the melody played on it in fast motion produces a comic impression. The humorous nature of the bassoon's staccato notes was wonderfully used by Glinka to characterize Lyudmila's cowardly admirer Farlaf in the opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila": in the scene of Farlaf's meeting with the sorceress Naina, the alternating staccato of two bassoons conveys his cowardly trembling.

But sometimes the bassoon sounds tragic. Thus, against the background of double basses, a mournful concentrated melody is played by the solo bassoon at the beginning of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony.

P. I. Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6. 1 movement

Download

And in Shostakovich’s symphonies the bassoon is dramatic, pathetic, and sometimes cheerful or thoughtful.

The contrabassoon is very similar to the bassoon in timbre. Its sound is full, a little hoarse. The range compared to the bassoon is shifted down an octave. It is usually used to enhance the bass voices of an orchestra.