Draw the musical instrument bassoon. Bassoon: history, video, interesting facts, listen. The unusual sound of a bassoon

(Italian - fagotto, French - basson, German - Fagott, English - bassoon)

The immediate predecessor of the bassoon was the bass pipe - bombarda. This instrument was made of wood, had the shape of a straight wide pipe with a funnel-shaped bell and was equipped with 7 playing holes.

The sound was produced using a double reed. Bombarda had a diatonic scale of almost two octaves. It is most widespread in Germany.

In the second quarter of the 16th century. the bombard underwent a number of design changes, the main one of which was giving it a shape Latin letter U. It has become more convenient for performers to handle the instrument. The scale length was also reduced, and the reed was removed from the cup-shaped mouthpiece-capsule. The timbre of the improved instrument acquired softness and tenderness, which led to its name - dolchian, doltsian, doltsyn (from the Italian dolce - tender, sweet). In fact, this instrument had all the features of a bassoon.

In the XVI-XVIII centuries. the bassoon family consisted of the contrabassoon, the double bassoon, the choir bassoon (the instrument closest to the modern bassoon), the treble bassoon, and the octave bassoon. Of the entire family, in addition to the main instrument, only the contrabassoon became widespread.

By the end of the 17th century. the bassoon consisted of four knees and already had three valves (B-flat, D and F). Its range covered two and a half octaves (from B-flat counteroctave to F-sharp first). Subsequently, a fourth valve, A-flat, appeared, and at the end of the 18th century, an E-flat valve. At the same time, octave valves appeared on the small knee, significantly expanding the upper register of the instrument (in the presence of four octave valves - up to F of the second octave).

At the beginning of the 19th century. The leading position in performing practice was occupied by the bassoons of the French system. The bassoon, designed by the famous Parisian master Savary Jr., had 11 valves. The instrument had a gentle but dry timbre with a distinctly nasal tint and had unstable intonation. The narrowed conical channel limited its dynamic range. IN mid-19th V. French bassoons, improved famous designers A. Buffet, and F. Triebert. These instruments had 16 and 19 valves. In 1850, F. Triebert tried to apply the Boehm system to the bassoon, but due to the complexity of the design and poor timbre, the new instrument was not widely used. Other attempts to apply the Boehm system to the bassoon were also unsuccessful.

Since 1825, the bandmaster and chamber musician in Nassau, Karl Almenröder (1786-1843), was involved in improving the bassoon. He carefully adjusted the mechanism of the classic instrument from Beethoven's era, adding several playing holes and valves. As a result, it was created new model bassoon of the German system, then improved by the famous Haeckel company. It is an instrument with a wide conical channel and a perfect valve mechanism. This model is currently being reproduced by many European companies that produce bassoons. Bassoons are also produced in our country based on Haeckel’s designs. Leningrad plant wind instruments.

French bassoons are currently widespread in addition to France in Spain and partly in Italy. They are manufactured by the Parisian company Buffet-Crampon.

Modern bassoon consists of a trunk, a bell and an esa (a curved metal tube), its length is more than 2.5 m. The material for production is maple (previously also beech, boxwood, sycamore), less often plastic. The barrel of the instrument consists of two tubes folded together in the shape of the Latin letter U. Sound is produced using a double (two-lobe) reed mounted on the es. The valve located on the ess facilitates freer production of upper register sounds. The instrument has 25-30 playing holes, most of which are equipped with valves, the rest can be closed with your fingers. By opening the playing holes in succession and using additional valves, on the bassoon it is possible to obtain a chromatic scale from B-flat counteroctave to F small octave. Sounds from F-sharp of the small octave to D of the first are extracted by octave blowing, and when extracting F-sharp, G and G-sharp of the small octave, you need to open half of the F playing hole. When playing A, B-flat, B minor and up to the first octave, it is necessary to open the octave valve, although professional performers quite often do without it. Sounds above D of the first octave are produced using complex fingerings. The bassoon is a non-transposing instrument. Notated in bass, tenor and rarely (most high notes) V treble clef. Range and characteristics of registers (see example 85).

Technically, the bassoon is somewhat inferior to the clarinet and oboe. This is especially evident when performing fast passages and trills in keys with a large number of key signs. In the lower register the instrument is technically less flexible. Staccato bassoon sounds sharp and clear. Octave jumps and even large intervals are possible. In the upper and lower registers, the staccato technique is inferior in speed to the middle register. Contemporary performers They widely use double attack when performing rapidly alternating sounds. Although improvements to the instrument by the Soviet bassoonist-designer V. Bubnovich and the Romanian designer G. Cuciureanu have greatly facilitated the performance of tremolos and trills, tremolo on the bassoon is still difficult and does not sound distinct enough, and trills are not possible on all sounds. Unperformable trills (see example 86).

The first to use the mute on the bassoon was the Soviet bassoonist Yu. F. Neklyudov. It is mainly used when extracting lowercase pp. For the most high sounds the mute does not work, and the lowest sound with the mute is not produced.

Varieties of bassoon

Contrabassoon (Italian— contrafagotto, French— contrebasson, German— Contrafagott, English— contrafagotto, double-basson). Compared to the bassoon, this instrument is twice the size. In design and fingering it is basically similar to the bassoon, although it has some design differences (the absence of a bass valve). The contrabassoon is notated in bass clef, sounds an octave lower. The most valuable is the lower register of the instrument (from B-flat contra octave to B-flat major), which has a thick, powerful sound. Higher sounds are not particularly interesting; on the bassoon they sound fuller. In terms of technical capabilities, this instrument is inferior to the bassoon.

In an orchestra it is used with late XVII - early XVIII century, took a permanent place in it end of the XVIII 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.

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History of the emergence and development of the bassoon

The appearance of the bassoon dates back to the first half of the 16th century. Its invention was for many years attributed to a canon from Ferrara named Afranio del Albonesi. In the 20th century, however, it was established that Afranio’s instrument was something like a bagpipe with metal reeds and had nothing in common with a bassoon.

The immediate predecessor of the bassoon 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 name of the true inventor of the bassoon still remains unknown.

On initial stage bassoons had only 3 valves, in the 18th century - 5 valves, as well as octave valves, which significantly expanded the upper register.

At the beginning of the 19th century leading place instruments of the French system, which had 11 valves, occupied the music market. The author of these models was Jean-Nicole Savarri. Later, sample tools appeared French masters A. Buffet and F. Trebera.

A special place in the history of the improvement of the instrument is occupied by the bassoonist and bandmaster Karl Almenröder, who together with Johann Adam Haeckel founded the production of woodwind instruments in Biebrich. In Almenröder he presented an improved 17-valve bassoon he had designed. This model was adopted as a basis and brought to perfection by the Haeckel company. French and then Austrian bassoons, produced in the middle of the 19th century by the company Ziegler and Son, could not withstand the competition with Haeckel's instruments and were supplanted in a number of countries.

The role of the bassoon in music

XVI–XIX centuries

In the early days of its existence, the bassoon served as amplification and duplication of bass voices. More independent role he started playing early XVII century. Works for dulcian and one or two instruments accompanied by basso continuo appear - sonatas by Biagio Marini, Dario Castello, Giovanni Battista Buonamente, Giovanni Battista Fontana and other authors. The first composition for solo dulcian - Fantasia from the collection Canzoni, fantasie et correnti Bartolome de Selma y Salaverde, published in 1638 in Venice. The author assigned the solo instrument a rather complex part for those times in a range extended down to B 1 (B flat counter octave). Philipp Friedrich Boedeker's Sonata (1651) also places high demands on the performer. In a monumental work Grunde-richtiger … Unterricht der musicalischen Kunst, oder Vierfaches musicalisches Kleblatt(1687) by Daniel Speer there are two sonatas for three dulcians. All these works are designed for an instrument with two valves.

At the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, a new, improved instrument, the bassoon, began to rapidly gain popularity. First of all, he became part of the opera orchestra: in some of Reinhard Kaiser's operas up to five bassoons are used. Jean-Baptiste Lully interpreted the bassoon as a bass voice in a wind trio, where the upper voices were assigned to two oboes, and the trio itself was contrasted in timbre with the string section of the orchestra (for example, in the opera “Psyche”, 1678).

The bassoon was often used as one of the solo instruments in concert symphonies. The most famous of them belong to Haydn (for oboe, bassoon, violin and cello) and Mozart (for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn). Several concertos were written for two bassoons and orchestra.

Works for bassoon, starting from the second half of the XVIII centuries, can be conditionally divided into two groups. The first of them is the works of the bassoonists themselves, such as F. Gebauer, K. Jacobi, K. Almenröder. Intended for personal performances, they were often written in the form of variations or fantasies on popular themes. The second is works by professional composers with the expectation of being performed by a specific musician. It includes concerts by K. Stamitz, Devien, Krommer, Danzi, Reicha, Hummel, Callivoda, M. Haydn, Kozeluch, Berwald and others. Carl Maria von Weber wrote the Concerto in F major, op. 75, for the Munich court bassoonist Brandt, in addition, he owns the Andante and the Hungarian Rondo, originally intended for viola. More recently, Gioachino Rossini's Concerto (1845) was discovered.

The bassoon was used much less frequently in chamber music. Only a few sonatas with piano are known: Anton Liste, Johannes Amon, Antonin Reich, Camille Saint-Saëns, small pieces were written by Ludwig Spohr and Christian Rummel. French bassoonist Eugene Jeancourt expanded his repertoire with transcriptions of works written for other instruments.

The role of the bassoon in the 19th century orchestra is also quite modest. Berlioz reproached him for the lack of expression and power of sound, although he noted the special timbre of his upper register. Only from the second half of the century did composers begin to assign solo episodes to the bassoon, for example, Bizet in the opera Carmen, Tchaikovsky in the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies, etc.

XX-XXI century

Thanks to improvements in the design of the bassoon and the technique of playing it, its repertoire expanded significantly in the 20th century. Solo literature for the bassoon was written by:

• Edward Elgar, Romance for bassoon and orchestra, Op. 62 (1909)
• Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Suite-Concertino F-Dur for bassoon, string orchestra and two horns, Op. 16 (1932)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos, "Dance of the Seven Notes" for bassoon and string orchestra (1933)
• Victor Bruns 4 concertos for bassoon: Op. 5 (1933), Op. 15 (1946), Op. 41 (1966) and Op. 83 (1986)
• Jean Français Divertissement for bassoon and string orchestra (1942); Concerto for bassoon and 11 strings (1979); Quadruple Concerto for flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon with orchestra
• Eugene Bozza Concertino for bassoon and chamber orchestra, Op. 49 (1946)
• Gordon Jacob Concerto for bassoon, percussion and string orchestra (1947)
• Paul Hindemith Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and string orchestra (1949)
• Franco Donatoni Concerto for bassoon and orchestra (1952)
• André Jolivet Concerto for bassoon, harp, piano and string orchestra (1954)
• Stjepan Szulek Concerto for bassoon and orchestra (1958)
• Henri Tomasi Concerto for bassoon and orchestra (1961)
• Bruno Bartolozzi Conzertazioni for bassoon, strings and percussion instruments (1963)
• Henk Badings Concerto for bassoon, contrabassoon and brass band (1964)
• Lev Knipper Double Concerto for trumpet, bassoon and orchestra (1968); Bassoon Concert with Orchestra (1970)
• Sofia Gubaidulina Concerto for bassoon and low strings (1975)
• Nino Rota Bassoon Concerto (1974-77)
• Pierre Boulez “Dialogue of two shadows” transcription for bassoon and electronics (1985-1995)
• Luciano Berio Sequenza XII for solo bassoon (1995)
• John Williams "The Five Sacred Trees" concerto for bassoon and orchestra (1995)
• Yuri Kaspar ov Concerto for bassoon and orchestra (1996)
• Moses Weinberg Sonata for solo bassoon, Op. 133
• Edison Denisov 5 etudes; Sonata for solo bassoon.
• Alexander Tansman Sonatina for bassoon and piano
• Frank Bedrossian "Transmission" for bassoon and electronics (2002)
• Marjan Mozetić Concerto for bassoon, marimba and string orchestra (2003)
• Pierluigi Billone “Legno. Edre V. Metrio" for solo bassoon (2003); "Legno.Stele" for two bassoons and ensemble (2004)
• Kalevi Aho Concerto for bassoon and orchestra (2004)
• Wolfgang Rihm “Psalmus” for bassoon and orchestra (2007)

Important orchestral parts were assigned to the bassoon by Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Carl Orff, and Sergei Prokofiev. There are extended solo parts in the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Symphonies of Dmitry Shostakovich.

In chamber music, the bassoon is assigned important role. The bassoon is used in chamber works by such composers as Camille Saint-Saens (Sonata for bassoon and piano), Francis Poulenc (Sonata for clarinet and bassoon), Alfred Schnittke (Hymn III, IV), Paul Hindemith (Sonata for bassoon and piano) -no), Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazilian Bahiana), Sofia Gubaidulina, Jean Français, Igor Stravinsky (“History of a Soldier”), André Jolivet (“Christmas Pastoral” for flute, bassoon and harp), Yun Isan, Kalevi Aho and others .

Bassoon structure

The bassoon is a long, hollow-conical tube. For greater compactness, the air column inside the instrument is folded in half. The main material for making a bassoon is maple wood.

The body of the bassoon consists of four parts: the lower knee (“boot”, which has U shape), small elbow (“outhouse”), large elbow and bell. From the small knee extends a thin long metal tube, bent in the shape of the letter S (hence its name - es), onto which a cane - the sound-producing element of the bassoon - is attached.

There are numerous holes on the body of the instrument (about 25–30), by opening and closing which the performer changes the pitch of the sound. Only 5-6 holes are controlled by fingers; for the rest, a complex valve mechanism is used.

Frequency range - from 58.27 Hz (B-flat counteroctave) to 698.46 Hz (F2, F of the second octave). Spectrum - up to 7 kHz. Formants - 440-500 Hz, Dynam. range - 33 dB. The sound is directed upward, backward, forward.

Bassoon playing technique

IN general outline The technique of performing on the bassoon resembles that on the oboe, however, the breath on the bassoon is consumed faster due to its larger size. The staccato bassoon is clear and sharp. Jumps of an octave or more are good; the change of registers is almost imperceptible.

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

Bassoon range - from B 1(B-flat counteroctave) to f²(F of the second octave), it is possible to extract higher sounds, but they are not always stable in sound. The bassoon can be equipped with a bell that allows you to extract la counter octaves (this sound is used in some of Wagner's works). Notes are written in bass, tenor, and occasionally in treble clef in accordance with the actual sound.

The latest playing techniques that entered the performing practice of bassoonists in the 20th century are double and triple staccato, playing several sounds on the instrument simultaneously (multiphonics), quarter-tone and third-tone intonation, frullato, tremolo, glissando, circular breathing and others. These techniques are most in demand in the works of avant-garde composers, including for solo bassoon.

French and German traditions

Most bassoons used in modern orchestras belong to the German system, copying, in general terms, the mechanics developed by the German company Haeckel. At the same time, in French-speaking countries, an instrument of the French system, which differs significantly from the German one, is in use. The French bassoon also has a more “lyrical” timbre.

Varieties of bassoon

In modern orchestral practice, along with the bassoon itself, only one of its varieties, the contrabassoon, has been preserved - an instrument with the same valve system as the bassoon, but sounding an octave lower than it.

IN different times There were also higher-sounding varieties of the bassoon. Michael Pretorius in one of the first major works on instrumentation in history Syntagma musicum(1611) mentions a family of tall dulcians in three varieties, designated as Diskantfagott, Altfagott And Fagott Piccolo. They were in use until the end of the 17th century, but even with the advent and spread of the modern bassoon, craftsmen continued to make instruments of high tunings, many of which have survived to this day. They were usually tuned to a fifth (rarely a fourth or minor third) higher than a regular bassoon. In English-language literature such instruments are known as tenoroon, and in French as basson quinte. There was also an even higher variety, sounding an octave higher than the bassoon, called “bassoon” or “small bassoon”. An early copy of such an instrument by I. K. Denner is kept in Boston.

The small bassoon was used sporadically in 18th-century scores. At the beginning of the 19th century in some opera houses In France they replaced the cor anglais, and Eugene Jancourt practiced solo performance on it. However, to end of the 19th century century, all high varieties of bassoon fell out of use.

In 1992, bassoon maker Guntram Wolf made a small bassoon for the first time in many years for the British bassoonist Richard Moore, who commissioned composer Victor Bruns to write several works for him. Another area of ​​application for the small bassoon is learning to play: Karl Almenröder also advised starting training at the age of ten on small varieties of the bassoon, so that at an older age you can easily switch to a large instrument. Wolf also developed a tool contraforte with a wider scale and a larger reed, but with the same range as a contrabassoon, capable of producing louder sounds (hence the name).

Links to articles about everyone instruments of the symphony orchestra are here: . Bassoon- This is the lowest sounding instrument from the wooden group. Its register includes bass, tenor, and alto sounds. Like the oboe, it has a double reed that is mounted on a curved metal tube. This makes the bassoon very different from the other instruments in the group.

Unlike the oboe (and other pieces of wood), its body is folded in half (otherwise it would be too long). For ease of transportation, the bassoon can be disassembled into parts.

Folded in such parts, it resembles a bundle of firewood, which was the reason for the name of the instrument (translated as “fagging”). Bassoon is Italian and his ancestry dates back to the 16th century. Its range is from B counter octave to f second.

The material for making this instrument is maple wood. The timbre of the bassoon is most perfect in the lower register. In the upper range it acquires some compression and nasality, which is also a distinctive timbre feature.

In fact, the timbre of the bassoon is very beautiful and easy to distinguish. In addition, it is very gentle; for this quality, this instrument was initially called “dulcian” from the word dolce (gentle).

Usually the bassoon is used in wind and symphony orchestras, however, it is also played in solo numbers, and is also used in ensembles.

There are up to 30 holes on the tool body. Only a small part of them is covered with fingers; mainly a valve system is used.

Like other wind instruments, the bassoon has undergone evolution in its development. Like most wind instruments, its heyday came in the 19th century (German company Haeckel).

Since the second half of this century, the bassoon has even been assigned solo episodes in orchestral parts, although initially this instrument simply duplicated the bass line in the orchestra.

In terms of playing technique, the bassoon is similar to the oboe, but the breath is spent less economically, since there is a longer column of air. Jumps are easy to make, the change of registers is almost unnoticeable, the staccato touch is quite sharp.

In modern music for the bassoon, it is possible to use intonations smaller than a semitone (a quarter and a third tone). Notes for the bassoon are usually written in bass and tenor clefs. The violin one is also occasionally used.

Sometimes used in orchestras contrabassoon– a variant of the instrument that sounds an octave lower.

To illustrate the sound of a bassoon with an orchestra, I would like to offer you a performance by the laureate international competition Alexey Levin (class of Professor V.V. Budkevich): K.M. Weber - fragment from the Concerto for Bassoon and OrchestraF- dur(State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus).

Italian fagotto, lit. - knot, ligament; German Fagott, French. basson, English bassoon

Wind reed musical instrument . Appeared in the 20-30s. 16th century as a result of the reconstruction of an ancient bombard (pommer). Consists of a barrel, bell and es. The barrel is lat-shaped. letter U (as if folded in half) and has 3 bends: a bass pipe, a “boot” (has 2 channels; it contains the return stroke of the F. tube) and a wing (wing). Thanks to the change in design, the strength and roughness of sound characteristic of the Pommer and other predecessors of F. disappeared, which was reflected in the name. instrument (in the 16th century - dolcian, dulcian - dolcian, dulcian; from Italian dolce - tender, sweet). F. is made from maple (in the past it was made from beech, boxwood, sycamore or palm tree), now it is sometimes made from plastic. The sound is produced using a double reed reed placed on the es. The channel (length more than 2.5 m) is hollow-conical; drilling expanding towards the socket. Sound holes (25-30) b. h. are covered with valves, only 5-6 of them are open, closed with fingers. Has special valves to facilitate blowing. Almost everywhere (except for French orchestras) F. with a German valve mechanism are used. systems. This kind of F. was created in 1834. master I. A. Heckel and bassoonist K. Almenroeder (the Heckel company, founded in 1831, still exists). F. their design is with 24 valves and 5 open holes. The f. is made in S., in the scores it is written down in actual form. sound, range - B1 (sometimes A1, for example in R. Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung") - e2 (g 2). In modern F. timbre is juicy and full in the lower (B1 - G) and less dense in the middle (G - g) registers; the high register (g - c2) has a melodious quality. The originality of the timbre in the high register gives the sound a special expressiveness; it approaches the plaintive intonations of the human voice (for example, in the ballet “The Rite of Spring” by Stravinsky); the highest register (c2 - e2) is compressed and very tense. Technical and arts. F.'s possibilities are great and varied - from virtuoso staccato and legato passages, various leaps to a gentle cantilena. F. is used mainly in symphony. orchestra (became a permanent participant in the late 17th century; in modern symphony orchestras there are two or three, rarely four F.; sometimes the 4th F. changes during performance to a contrabassoon), often used in chamber music and spirit. and estr. orchestras, as well as in ensembles and solos (concertos for F. with orchestra were written by A. Vivaldi, J. K. Bach, W. A. ​​Mozart, K. M. Weber, I. Power, as well as L. K. Knipper, B.V. Savelyev and others). F.'s part is notated in bass, tenor, treble (rarely) clefs and (as an exception) in alto clef (in the opera "The Woman of Pskov" by Rimsky-Korsakov).

In Russia, F. has been known since the end. 17 - beginning 18th centuries F. was widely used as a solo instrument in Russian. classic music, eg. M. I. Glinka ("Ruslan and Lyudmila", Spanish overture for orchestra " Aragonese jota"), N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (operas "Sadko", "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia", etc.).

Of the many Varieties of F. that appeared in the 16th-19th centuries were widespread. types of small f., including fagottino (Italian fagottino), sounding an octave higher than f., tenor f. in G (less often in F; range G - f1), used ch. arr. for learning to play F., and Russian. F. (range G (F, E) - g1), similar to the serpent (differed by a metal cauldron-shaped mouthpiece), used in the military. orchestras. In Russia, such F. existed under the name. infantry and dragoon basses, produced in 1744-59 at the factory of E. T. Metsneninov, made of boxwood (master Ya. I. Rogov). In modern In practice, the contrabassoon has been preserved, which was included in their scores by W. A. ​​Mozart (orchestral piece “Masonic Funeral Music” and serenades for orchestra), J. Haydn (oratorios “The Creation of the World” and “The Seasons”), L. Beethoven (opera "Fidelio", 5th and 9th symphonies, "Solemn Mass", etc.), in the 20th century. - C. Debussy, P. Dukas, M. Ravel. The F. family also includes the rarely used sub-bassoon (invented in 1872 by master V.F. Cherven), which sounds an octave lower than the contrabassoon.

Literature: Chulaki M., Symphony Orchestra Instruments, L., 1950, p. 115-20, 1972; Rogal-Levitsky D., Bassoon, in his book: Modern orchestra, vol. 1, M., 1953, p. 426-66; Levin S., Fagot, M., 1963; him, Wind instruments in the history of musical culture, Leningrad, 1973; Neklyudov Yu., On constructive improvements to the bassoon, in the book: Methods of teaching playing wind instruments. Essays, vol. 2, M., 1966, p. 232-45.

A. A. Rosenberg

In this article we will look at the meaning of the word bassoon. This is a musical instrument whose history goes back centuries. It is an instrument of the lowest sounding wooden group. The bassoon is a rather interesting instrument. Its registers can include tenor, bass and alto sounds. Like the oboe, it has a double reed. This part is placed on a curved metal tube. This extremely distinguishes the bassoon from many other musical instruments of this group. But let's talk about everything in more detail.

Bassoon design features

Bassoon has interesting feature. His body seems to be folded in half. This differs it from the oboe. If its body were not folded in half, the instrument itself would be too long. The bassoon is a musical instrument that can be disassembled piece by piece. This is necessary for ease of carrying.

From the history of the bassoon

Due to the fact that it is folded into several parts, the musical instrument resembles a bundle of firewood. As a matter of fact, this is precisely the reason why it received this name. Translated from Italian word"bassoon" means fagot.

The bassoon is a musical instrument that dates back to the sixteenth century. The material for making this instrument was originally maple. This feature has been preserved to this day. In the lower register the bassoon sounds more perfect. While in the upper one it has some nasality and constriction. This is its distinctive timbre feature.

The unusual sound of a bassoon

The timbre of the bassoon itself is a very beautiful and easily distinguishable sound. This is a very gentle timbre. For this quality, this instrument was worn unusual name"dulcian". This happened due to the fact that in Italian the word dolce means "gentle".

Nuances of the structure of the bassoon

There are about thirty holes on the body of the bassoon. In this case, only a small part of them is covered with fingers. Mainly, a valve system is used. This musical instrument is used in brass and symphony orchestras. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to play solo numbers and use it in ensembles.

Like many other musical instruments of this group, the bassoon underwent evolution in the process of its development. Like many wind instruments, it gained its greatest popularity in the nineteenth century, thanks to the German company Haeckel.

Use in orchestra

Since the second half of this century, the bassoon is an instrument that is assigned large solo episodes in orchestral parts. This is despite the fact that initially this instrument merely duplicated the bass line in the orchestra. Since the bassoon is similar in playing technique to the oboe, it has, of course, some differences. The bassoon is a musical instrument, in the process of playing which, breath is spent less sparingly. This is due to the fact that there is a long column of air. As a result, you can easily notice the jumps. At the same time, the change of registers is almost imperceptible, and the staccato stroke turns out to be quite sharp. If we consider modern music, then we find the use of the bassoon in intonations less than a semitone. This is usually a quarter or third tone. As a rule, notes for this instrument are written in bass and tenor clefs. Although it must be said that the violin one is also occasionally used.

In addition, in many orchestras, it happens that a contrabassoon is used - this is a variant of the instrument that sounds an octave lower. In addition, the clarinet goes well with it. Bassoon - enough classical instrument for use in orchestras.

Bassoon in music

From the beginning of the eighteenth century, until the mid-nineteenth century, the bassoon began to very quickly gain popularity in different and, of course, compositions. One of the very first solo musical performances was prescribed for the bassoon in the collection created by Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde. This work was first presented in Venice itself, where the bassoon was given one of the most difficult parts. In particular, you need to take into account the fact that at that time there were only two valves. At the same time, he needed to play in a particularly large range. This range was expanded slightly down to the B-flat counter-octave.

Somewhere from the eighteenth century, the bassoon, improved in its structure, began to be used especially often in opera orchestras. Glinka used this musical instrument in his famous opera"Ruslan and Lyudmila." He did this because the sound of the staccato notes of the bassoon was very perky and humorous. He managed to very sensually show with the help of this instrument the cowardly character of Farlaf. Two overlapping bassoons played a very significant role in conveying the character of the cowardly hero. In addition, the bassoon could, surprisingly, sound very tragic. Thus, in Tchaikovsky’s rather famous Sixth Symphony, there is a very mournful, heavy solo performed by the bassoon. Its sound is accompanied by a double bass.

But in many of Shostakovich’s symphonies the bassoon sounds in two ways. It sometimes becomes dramatic and dynamic, and sometimes it sounds completely sad. The bassoon is an instrument that was played by foreign authors. Bach, Haydn, Mutel, Graun, Graupner - all these composers repeatedly wrote concertos for this instrument. They could fully reveal the full potential that lies in the bassoon. Mozart's Concerto (in B major) has become one of the most frequently played works.

Bassoon in Vivaldi's compositions

One of the most important components of the history of this instrument are the thirty-nine concertos that Antonio Vivaldi wrote. In these concertos, Vivaldi created solo parts for the instrument that surprise with their quick leaps and transitions from one register to another. There are long episodes and virtuosic passages. It is not surprising that such techniques came into fairly wide use only over time. Only in the process of evolution of the technological component of the instrument did it become possible to use it so extensively and masterfully.

Is it possible to learn to play the bassoon?

When asking this question, you must understand that nothing is impossible. A person is capable of extremely much, and people are often limited by self-esteem and their own opinion about myself. So how difficult is it to learn to play a musical instrument like the bassoon? The most difficult thing in this process is to get off the couch and buy an instrument, because, as mentioned above, the bassoon is orchestral instrument Based on this, we understand that it is not as universal as, for example, a piano or a guitar. However, this instrument has many famous sonatas and symphonies from a huge number of authors. You definitely need to find yourself a teacher who could become your guide throughout your direct training. It could be some person from music school or some private teacher. Seriously speaking, the bassoon is not the easiest instrument to learn, which is why many people give up as soon as they try it. However, if you ask yourself what comes easy in our life, you will understand that learning and diligence in your chosen path will allow you to taste the sweet fruits of results very soon.

The nuances of playing the bassoon

An ordinary bassoon is an instrument that has a little over three octaves. And although the number of notes is quite small, the musicians still manage to produce the sounds they need. Although this can be dangerous for the instrument during a concert, the very sound that is obtained from these octaves is dull and, to some extent, not always pleasant. The very timbre of the bassoon sound directly depends on the register in which you reproduce the sound. At the moment when such a curious wind musical instrument as the bassoon appeared, classical music immediately acquired more expressiveness and became somewhat richer in overtones. The timbre of the bassoon itself is very rich in overtones. This is exactly what an unusual bassoon sounds like.