Editing Bassoon (section)

=== Ensembles prior to the 20th century ===

==== Pre-1760 ====
Prior to 1760, the early ancestor of the bassoon was the [[dulcian]]. It was used to reinforce the bass line in wind ensembles called [[Consort of instruments|consorts]].<ref name=":06" /> However, its use in concert orchestras was sporadic until the late 17th century when double reeds began to make their way into standard instrumentation. Increasing use of the dulcian as a ''[[Figured bass#Basso continuo|basso continuo]]'' instrument meant that it began to be included in [[opera]] orchestras, in works such as those by [[Reinhard Keiser]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]].<ref name="Grove" /> Meanwhile, as the dulcian advanced technologically and was able to achieve more virtuosity, composers such as [[Joseph Bodin de Boismortier]], [[Johann Ernst Galliard]], [[Johann Friedrich Fasch]] and Georg Philipp Telemann wrote demanding solo and ensemble music for the instrument.<ref name="Grove" /> [[Antonio Vivaldi]] brought it to prominence by featuring it in thirty-nine [[Concerto|concerti]].<ref name="Grove" />

==== c. 1760–1830 ====
While the bassoon was still often used to give clarity to the bassline due to its sonorous low register, the capabilities of wind instruments grew as technology advanced during the [[Classical period (music)|Classical era]]. This allowed the instrument to play in more keys than the dulcian. [[Joseph Haydn]] took advantage of this in his Symphony No. 45 ([[Symphony No. 45 (Haydn)|"Farewell Symphony]]"), in which the bassoon plays in F-sharp minor.<ref name=":06" /> Following with these advances, composers also began to exploit the bassoon for its unique color, flexibility, and virtuosic ability, rather than for its perfunctory ability to double the bass line. Those who did this include [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] in his three Duos for Clarinet and Bassoon (WoO 27) for clarinet and bassoon and [[Niccolò Paganini|Niccolo Paganini]] in his duets for violin and bassoon.<ref>HALL, Ronn K. ''An Exploration into the Validity and Treatment of the Bassoon in Duet Repertoire from 1960–2016''. Ann Arbor: University of Maryland, College Park, 2017. Order No. 10269497. {{ISBN|978-0-355-06208-3}}</ref> In his [[Bassoon Concerto (Mozart)|Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|W. A. Mozart]] utilized all aspects of the bassoon's expressiveness with its contrasts in register, staccato playing, and expressive sound, and was especially noted for its singing quality in the second movement.<ref name=":06" /> This concerto is often considered one of the most important works in all of the bassoon's repertoire, even today.<ref name="Grove" />

The bassoon's similarity to the human voice, in addition to its newfound virtuosic ability, was another quality many composers took advantage of during the classical era. After 1730, the German bassoon's range expended up to B♭<sub>4</sub>, and much higher with the French instrument.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Will|first=Jansen|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/470056072|title=The Bassoon Its History, Construction, Makers, Players and Music|date=1978|publisher=Frits Knuf|isbn=90-6027-446-6|oclc=470056072|access-date=30 April 2021|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803193958/https://search.worldcat.org/title/470056072|url-status=live}}</ref> Technological advances also caused the bassoon's tenor register sound to become more resonant, and playing in this register grew in popularity, especially in the Austro-Germanic musical world. Pedagogues such as Josef Frohlich instructed students to practice scales, thirds, and fourths as vocal students would. In 1829, he wrote that the bassoon was capable of expressing "the worthy, the virile, the solemn, the great, the sublime, composure, mildness, intimacy, emotion, longing, heartfulness, reverence, and soulful ardour."<ref name=":06" /> In G.F. Brandt's performance of [[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s [[Bassoon Concerto (Weber)|Concerto for Bassoon in F Major, Op. 75 (J. 127)]] it was also likened to the human voice.<ref name=":06" /> In France, Pierre Cugnier described the bassoon's role as encompassing not only the bass part, but also to accompany the voice and harp, play in pairs with clarinets and horns in [[Harmonie]], and to play in "nearly all types of music," including concerti, which were much more common than the sonatas of the previous era.<ref name=":06" /><ref name="Grove" /> Both Cugnier and [[Étienne Ozi]] emphasized the importance of the bassoon's similarity to the singing voice.<ref name=":06" />

The role of the bassoon in the orchestra varied depending on the country. In the Viennese orchestra the instrument offered a three-dimensional sound to the ensemble by doubling other instruments such as violins, as heard in [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart's]] overture to ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'', [[The Marriage of Figaro|K 492.]] where it plays a rather technical part alongside the strings.<ref name=":06" /> He also wrote for the bassoon to change its timbre depending on which instrument it was paired with; warmer with clarinets, hollow with flutes, and dark and dignified with violins.<ref name=":06" /> In Germany and Scandinavian countries, orchestras typically featured only two bassoons. But in France, orchestras increased the number to four in the latter half of the nineteenth century.<ref name=":2" /> In England, the bassoonist's role varied depending on the ensemble. [[Johann Christian Bach]] wrote two concertos for solo bassoon, and it also appeared in more supportive roles such as accompanying church choirs after the Puritan revolution destroyed most church organs.<ref name=":06" /> In the American colonies, the bassoon was typically seen in a chamber setting. After the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], bassoonists were found in wind bands that gave public performances.<ref name=":06" /> By 1800, there was at least one bassoon in the United States Marine Band.<ref name=":06" /> In South America, the bassoon also appeared in small orchestras, bands, and military musique (similar to Harmonie ensembles).<ref name=":06" />

==== c. 1830–1900 ====
The role of the bassoon during the [[Romantic era]] varied between a role as a supportive bass instrument and a role as a virtuosic, expressive, solo instrument. In fact, it was very much considered an instrument that could be used in almost any circumstance. The comparison of the bassoon's sound to the human voice continued on during this time, as much of the pedagogy surrounded emulating this sound. [[Giuseppe Verdi]] used the instrument's lyrical, singing voice to evoke emotion in pieces such as his ''[[Requiem (Verdi)|Messa da Requiem]]''.<ref name=":06" /> [[Eugène Louis-Marie Jancourt|Eugène Jancourt]] compared the use of vibrato on the bassoon to that of singers, and Luigi Orselli wrote that the bassoon blended well with human voice.<ref name=":06" /> He also noted the function of the bassoon in the French orchestra at the time, which served to support the sound of the viola, reinforce staccato sound, and double the bass, clarinet, flute, and oboe.<ref name=":06" /> Emphasis also began to be placed on the unique sound of the bassoon's staccato, which might be described as quite short and aggressive, such as in [[Hector Berlioz]]'s ''[[Symphonie fantastique]], Op. 14'' in the fifth movement. [[Paul Dukas]] utilized the staccato to depict the image of two brooms coming to life in ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas)|The Sorcerer's Apprentice]].''<ref name=":2" />

It was common for there to be only two bassoons in German orchestras.<ref name=":2" /> Austrian and British military bands also only carried two bassoons, and were mainly used for accompaniment and offbeat playing.<ref name=":06" /> In France, Hector Berlioz also made it fashionable to use more than two bassoons; he often scored for three or four, and at time wrote for up to eight such as in his ''l'Impériale''.<ref name=":06" />

At this point, composers expected bassoons to be as virtuosic as the other wind instruments, as they often wrote solos challenging the range and technique of the instrument. Examples of this include [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s bassoon solo and cadenza following the clarinet in ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Sheherazade]],'' [[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Op. 35]] and in [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'', which required the bassoonist to triple tongue and also play up to the top of its range at an E<sub>5</sub>.<ref name=":06" /> Wagner also used the bassoon for its staccato ability in his work, and often wrote his three bassoon parts in thirds to evoke a darker sound with noticeable tone color.<ref name=":06" /> In [[Modest Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Night on Bald Mountain]]'', the bassoons play fortissimo alongside other bass instruments in order to evoke "the voice of the Devil."<ref name=":2" />