| Summary: | Bassoon is woodwind instrument with a conical bore, which is sounded by a double-reed and is used as a tenor or bass line of the woodwind section of the orchestra or chamber ensemble. Quite long evolution of bassoon begins in 1525 with instrument called Phagotum. This instrument is followed by dulcian made of one wooden part, through bassoon of the classical and romantic period, which was made from more joints, to the modern shape of instrument, which is known from first half of 19th century. In this time two main types of bassoon were established: French type (with subtle construction, softer sound and easier reaching of upper register) and German type (robust with a dark homogenous sound mainly in low register). German type, which now dominates in the whole world, was designed especially by Carl Almenraeder (1786 ? 1843) and Johann Adam Heckel (1812 ? 1877). Modern bassoon is made of maple wood and consists of five joints: bell, bass joint, butt, wing joint and bocal. As a sixth joint can we eventually count in a double-reed. In contemporary praxis there exist two sizes of the instrument: bassoon and contrabassoon, sounding one octave lower.
The most significant German-bassoon producers before Second World War were beyond Heckel also German firms Adler, Hüller, Kohlert, Mollenhauer and Mönnig. Current main producers of this bassoon type are: Amati (Czech Republic), Bell (Canada), Fox (USA), Heckel (Germany), Mönnig-Adler (Germany), Moosmann (Germany), Püchner (Germany), Schreiber (Germany), Takeda (Japan), Walter (Germany), Wolf (Germany) and Yamaha (Japan). French type of bassoon was formerly produced by Mahillon (Belgium), Boosey & Hawkes (England) and Morton (England). In these days it?s made only by Buffet-Crampon (France) and Selmer (France). Except for these producers wide range of historical replika?s can be mentioned. The most important are for example: Olivier Cottet, Laurent and Vergeat (Francie), Moeck, Rainer Weber and Guntram Wolf (Germany), Matthew Dart, John Hanchet, Graham Lyndon-Jones and Barbara Stanley (Great Britain), Peter de Robinson and Konningh (Holland), Robert Cronin and Ross (USA).
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