Bassoon

The bassoon emerged in the mid-17th century when French makers disassembled the one-piece dulcian into four joints—wing, butt, long joint, and bell—creating an instrument easier to manufacture, transport, and tune. This construction change, combined with additional keys and refined bore design, produced the bass woodwind that has anchored orchestras ever since.

The joint system was revolutionary for manufacturing. Instead of carving a complex folded bore from a single block of wood, makers could produce individual sections and assemble them. Repairs became practical; pitch could be adjusted by swapping joints; quality control improved because defects in one section did not ruin an entire instrument.

French makers dominated early bassoon development, producing the instrument that Lully used in his operas and that spread through European courts. The "French bassoon" remained standard until the 19th century, when Carl Almenräder and Johann Heckel developed the German bassoon with its different fingering system, larger bore, and more powerful sound.

Today, both German and French systems survive. Orchestras in most countries use Heckel-system instruments; French orchestras and many chamber musicians prefer the Buffet system. The two produce noticeably different timbres—German bassoons darker and more blending, French bassoons brighter and more soloistic.

The bassoon's role evolved with orchestral music. Baroque bassoons supported the bass line alongside cellos. Classical composers gave bassoons melodic passages; Romantic composers exploited their distinctive color. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring opens with a bassoon solo at the top of its range—a sound that divided audiences and defined 20th-century music.

An instrument created for practical manufacturing reasons became a voice unlike any other—comic and tragic, lyrical and grotesque, always recognizable.