INSTRUMENTS IN THE ORCHESTRA: (8) The Bassoon

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 427, 29 August 1947, Page 15

INSTRUMENTS IN THE ORCHESTRA: (8) The Bassoon

i= eighth of a series of short articles on the instruments of the National Orchestra, written to help interested listeners towards a more informed appreciation of orchestral music and a better understanding of the resources at the command of the conductor.

T has been remarked that if an .] orchestra without a bassoon sounds all wrong, a bassoon ithout an orchestra sounds terrible. The instrument has a strong reedy tone, sometimes (and fittingly) described as "fruity." Its ability to produce notes of a humorous quality has earned it the nickname of "Comedian of the Orchestra." Beethoven, in his Sixth Symphony, uses a bassoon to portray a meandering drunk, and in "The Sorcerer’s Apprentice," by Dukas, the enchanted broomstick is represented

first by one bassoon, and later, after it has been chopped into halves by the apprentice, by two. The bassoon is by no means employed for humorous effect alone, however, and it is used in a wide variety of ways in the orchestras of most of the master composers. The bassoon is a double reed instrument of the woodwind family, in which it has the bass voice. It is to the oboe and the clarinet what the violoncello is to the violin. Its history is much the same as that of the oboe, its direct ancestor having been the bass pommer which was six feet in length and

quite straight. The | mechanics of the bas- | soon, however, require the tube to be just under | eight feet long, so it is’ "doubled back" on itself, giving it in effect a length of about five feet and making it easier to handle. The reed has been brought within easy reach of the player’s mouth by a curved metal tube. The instrument is made of wood, in five pieces, and has a tapering, conical bore. A high degree of skill is required to manipulate the keys, of which there are from 16 to 22, and as the acoustics of the instrument are im‘perfect the player must rely partly upon his ear to guide him. The double. bassoon, which is sometimes seen in orchestras, is more ponderous and produces an even mightier bass than does the bassoon. Its fore-runner bore the magnificent name of great double quintpommer, : The National Orchestra has two bassoons.