Chapter XXX: Act 1906: , specifying as it does cheques alone, appears to exclude documents (25)

An explanation may perhaps be found in Eisel's statement about the _Deutscher Basson_, which he distinguishes from the _Basson_ (our bassoon). "The _Deutsche Bassons_, Fagotte or Bombardi, as our German ancestors termed them, before music was clothed in Italian and French style, are no longer in use" (Eisel wrote in 1738) "and therefore it is unnecessary to waste paper on them."[14] This refers, of course, to the _bombard_ or bass pommer, the extraordinarily long instruments which Schnitzer made so successfully. From this it would seem that our bassoon was not of German origin. In the meanwhile we get a clue to the early history of the pommer in transition, but we find it under a different name in no way connected with _fagotto_. In order to shorten the unwieldy proportions of the tenor pommer in C, and to increase its portability, it was constructed out of a block of wood of rather more than double the diameter of the pommer, in which two bores were cut, communicating at the bottom of the instrument which was flat. The bell and the crook containing the double reed mouthpiece were side by side at the top. This instrument, which had six holes in front and one at the back as well as two keys, was known as the _dulceian, dolcian, doucaine_, and also in France as _courtaud_ and in England as the _curtail_, _curtal_,[15] _curtoll_, &c., being mentioned in 1582--"The common bleting musick of ye Drone, Hobius (Hautboy) and Curtoll." The next step in the evolution produced the double curtail, a converted bass pommer an octave below the single curtail and therefore identical in pitch as in construction with the early fagotto in C. The instrument is shown in fig. 2, the reproduction of a drawing in the MS. of _The Academy of Armoury_ by Randle Holme,[16] written some time before 1688. At the side of the drawing is the following description: "A double curtaile.[17] This is double the bigness of the single, mentioned ch. xvi. n. 6" (the MS. begins at ch. xvii. of bk. 3) "and is played 8 notes deeper. It is as it were 2 pipes fixed in on(e) thick bass pipe, one much longer than the other, from the top of the lower comes a crooked pipe of brass in which is fixed a reed, through it the wind passeth to make the instrument make a sound. It hath 6 holes on the outside and one on that side next the man or back part and 2 brass keys, the highest called double _La sol re_, and the other double _B mi_."

We may therefore conclude that the satirical name _fagotto_, presumably bestowed in Italy, since the French equivalent _fagot_ was never used for the _basson_, was not necessarily applied to the new form of pommer at the outset, but in any case before 1555; that the very term _Phagoto d'Afranio_, by which the instrument was known during its short fabulous existence, with its pretended Greek etymology, presupposes the pre-existence in Italy of another _fagotto_ with which Afranio was acquainted, perhaps imperfectly. Afranio's was the age of ingenious mechanical devices applied to musical instruments, many of which, like Afranio's, being mere freaks, did not survive the inventor. A document selected from the valuable archives published by Edm. van der Straeten[18] suggests a satisfactory clue. In 1426 Louis Willay, a musical instrument maker of Bruges, sold to Philippe le Bon a triple set of wood-wind instruments, _i.e._ "4 bombardes, 4 doucaines and 4 flutes," to be sent as a gift to Nicolas III., marquis of Ferrara. The new instrument, the doucaine, we may imagine, by its unusual appearance provoked the satirical wit of some courtier, and was henceforth known as _fagotto_. Just a century later Ravilius of Ferrara made Afranio's first phagotus from the inventor's design.

The bassoon has been a favourite with all the great masters, excepting Handel. Beethoven uses the bassoon largely in his symphonies, writing everywhere for it independent parts of great beauty and originality. Bach, in his mass in B min., has parts for two bassoons. Mozart wrote a concerto in Bb for bassoon, with orchestra (Kochel, No. 191). Weber has also written a concerto for bassoon in F (op. 75), scored for full orchestra.

See also Etienne Ozi, _Nouvelle Methode du Bassoon_ (Paris, 1788 and 1800); J. B. J. Willent-Bordogny, _Gran Methodo completo per il Fagotto_ (Milan, 1844), with illustrations of early bassoons (English edition, London, J. R. Lafleur & Son); Joseph Froehlich, _Vollstaendige Musikschule fuer alle beym Orchester gebrauchliche wichtigere Instrumente_ (many practical illustrations) (Cologne, Bonn, 1811); article "Bassoon," by W. H. Stone and D. J. Blaikley in Grove's _Dictionary of Music and Musicians_ (2nd ed.); article "Fagott" in Mendel's _Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon_; for the history of the instrument, and of its prototypes, see OBOE and BOMBARD.

(K. S.)

[1] At Wagner's instigation, the wind-instrument-maker, W. Heckel of Biebrich-am-Rhein, made bassoons with an extra key, extending the compass downwards to A.

[2] Macrobius in _Somn. Scip._ lib. ii. cap. 4. 5.

[3] Gottfried Weber, "Verbesserungen des Fagotts," in _Cacilia_ (Mainz, 1825), vol. ii. p. 123.

[4] See _Traite sur le perfectionnement du basson, avec 2 tableaux, par Charles Almenraeder_ (Mayence, Schott), and also the above mentioned article by Gottfried Weber in _Cacilia_, whose explanations are clearer than those of the inventor.

[5] For a description of the modern instrument see Victor Charles Mahillon, _Catalogue descriptif et analytique du musee instrumental du Conservatoire Royal de Musique_ (Bruxelles, 1896), vol. ii. pp. 275-276, No. 999.

[6] As far as is known only three of these curious instruments are in existence; two in the museum of the Conservatoire, Paris, and one in Brussels; all three bear a trefoil as maker's mark; the smallest, in F, is reproduced in the _Catalogue of the Musical Instruments exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London_, 1890, by Capt. C. R. Day (London, 1891), pl. iv. F. It is also described (without illustration) in Mahillon's _Catalogue_, p. 201, No. 189. The two flutes in Paris, measuring 73 cm. and 94 cm., are described by Gustave Chouquet, _Le Musee du Conservatoire National de Musique--Catalogue descriptif et raisonne_ (Paris, 1884), Nos. 409 and 410, p. 106.

[7] An Italian translation of the description is given by Count L. F. Valdrighi in _Musurgiana_, No. 4 (Milano, 1881), "Il Phagotus di Afranio," p. 40 et seq. (without illustration). An illustration of the phagotus is given by W. J. von Wasielewski in _Gesch. d. Instrumentalmusik im XVI. Jahrh._ (Berlin, 1878), pl. v. and vi., text p. 74.

[8] See _L'Harmonie universelle_ (Paris, 1636), part ii. p. 305.

[9] Ibid., illustrated and described, bk. v. p. 293.

[10] See Edm. van der Straeten, _Hist. de la musique aux Pays-Bas_, vol. vii. pp. 433, 436, 448.

[11] J. J. Quantz, Frederick the Great's flute-master, gives France the credit of transforming the bombard (pommer) into the bassoon, and the schalmey into oboe, see _Versuch einer Anweisung die Flote traversiere zu spielen_ (Berlin, 1752), p. 24 and again p. 241, s. 6.

[12] J. G. Doppelmaier, _Historische Nachricht von den Nuernbergischen Mathematicis und Kuenstlern_ (Nuernberg, 1730), p. 293.

[13] See "Nachrichten von Kuenstlern und Werkleuten Nuernbergs aus dem Jahre 1549," in R. Eitelberger von Edelberg's _Quellenschriften fuer Kunstgeschichte und Kunsttechnik des Mittelalters_ (Vienna. 1875), vols. viii.-x.

[14] See J. J. Eisel, _Musicus autodidactus oder der sich selbst informierende Musicus_ (Erfurt, 1738), pp. 104 and 100, and also J. Mattheson, _Das neu-eroeffnete Orchester_ (Hamburg, 1713), "Basson," from whom Eisel borrowed.

[15] See the _New English Dictionary_, and Bateman upon Bartholinus, 423, 1, margin.

[16] British Museum, Harl. MS. 2034, fol. 207_b_, a reference communicated by Augustus Hughes-Hughes from his valuable appendix to part iii. (Instrumental Music and Works on Music) of a _Catalogue of MS. Music in the British Museum_ (London, 1908-1909). The Appendix contains a list of typical musical instruments represented in illuminated MSS., or described in other MSS. in the British Museum, with a brief description and full references.

[17] Compare Randle Holme's _double curtail_ with the dolcian in C, pl. vi. H. of Capt. C. R. Day's catalogue, and with a dolcian or single curtail by J. C. Denner in Paul de Wit's _Katalog des Musikhistorischen Museums von Paul de Wit_ (Leipzig, 1903), p. 127, No. 380, and illust. p. 121 (Collection now transferred to Cologne). Consult also Mersenne, _op. cit_., and Michael Praetorius, _Syntagma Musicum_ (Wolfenbuettel, 1618), both of whom describe and figure these forms of early bassoons.

[18] _Op. cit_. vol. vii. p. 38.

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Corrections made to printed original.

page 340, "exceed, at any time, the sum of L10,000.": 'at ant time' in original.

page 370, "thirty-five years of uninterrupted service": 'thrity-five' in original.

page 456, "all the chief military events": 'imlitary' in original.