Contrabassoon
Encyclopedia
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon
, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Fingering is slightly different, particularly at the register change and in the extreme high range.
The instrument is twice as long, curves around on itself twice, and, due to its weight and shape, is supported by an endpin rather than a seat strap. Additional support is sometimes given by a strap around the player's neck. A wider hand position is also required, as the primary finger keys are widely spaced.
The contrabassoon has a water key to expel condensation and a tuning slide for gross pitch adjustments.
The instrument comes in a few pieces (plus bocal
); in some models, it cannot be disassembled without a screwdriver. Sometimes, however, the bell can be detached, and in the case of instruments with a low A extension, the instrument often comes in two parts.
or, less frequently, reed contrabass
, until improvements to the contrabassoon by Heckel in the late 19th century secured its place as the standard double reed contrabass. For more than a century, between 1880 and 2000, the contrabassoon of Heckel’s design remained relatively unchanged. A few keys were added during this time, most notably an upper vent key near the bocal socket, a tuning slide, and a few key linkages to facilitate technical passages.
Concerto for Contrabassoon (2005) was written for Lewis Lipnick of the National Symphony. It became the first contrabassoon concerto to be recorded and released by a major record label, BIS Records
.
s and wind ensembles. In some rare circumstances they are found in wind quintet
s.
While relatively rare, the instrument is most frequently found in larger symphonies, particularly those of Gustav Mahler
, Richard Strauss
, and Dmitri Shostakovich
. The first composer to write a separate contrabassoon part in a symphony was Beethoven
, in his Fifth Symphony
(1808), although Bach
, Handel
(in his Music for the Royal Fireworks), Haydn
, and Mozart
occasionally used it in other genres. Composers have often used the contrabassoon to comical or sinister effect by taking advantage of its clumsiness and its sepulchral rattle, respectively. A clear example of its sound can be heard in Paul Dukas
' The Sorcerer's Apprentice
.
Some modern composers such as Gunther Schuller
, Donald Erb
, Michael Tilson Thomas
, Kalevi Aho
, and Daniel Dorff
have written concertos for this instrument. Graham Waterhouse
set Aztec Ceremonies for contrabassoon and piano. Orchestrally, the contrabassoon is featured in Maurice Ravel
's Mother Goose Suite, and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
.
It can also be clearly heard providing the bass line in the brief "Janissary
band" section of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
, just prior to the tenor solo.
at the octave. Frequent exponents of such scoring were Brahms
and Mahler
. Haydn
also used this instrument in both of his oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons
. In these works the part for the contrabassoon and the bass trombone are mostly, but not always, identical.
In 2001, Bavarian instrument makers Guntram Wolf and Benedikt Eppelsheim began collaborating on the reworking of the contrabassoon, resulting in a new instrument they call the Contraforte
. It has a larger bore, as well as larger tone holes, resulting in a slightly different tone from a normal contrabassoon. The Contraforte contains a natural extension down to A0, and several other features such as silent key movement and an automatic water drain. Lewis Lipnick, contrabassoonist for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, played it in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in October 2010.
Henry Skolnick has performed and toured internationally on the instrument. He commissioned, premiered and recorded Aztec Ceremonies for contrabassoon by Graham Waterhouse
. In 2008 he played the contrabassoon part in the premiere of the composer's Bright Angel
for three bassoons and contrabassoon at the annual conference of the International Double Reed Society
in Provo
.
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The reed is considerably larger, at 65–75 mm in total length as compared to 53–58 mm for most bassoon reeds.Fingering is slightly different, particularly at the register change and in the extreme high range.
The instrument is twice as long, curves around on itself twice, and, due to its weight and shape, is supported by an endpin rather than a seat strap. Additional support is sometimes given by a strap around the player's neck. A wider hand position is also required, as the primary finger keys are widely spaced.
The contrabassoon has a water key to expel condensation and a tuning slide for gross pitch adjustments.
The instrument comes in a few pieces (plus bocal
Bocal
A bocal is the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument. It's a curved, tapered tube, which is an integral part of certain woodwind instruments, including double reed instruments such as the bassoon, contrabassoon, English horn, and oboe d'amore, as well as the larger recorders...
); in some models, it cannot be disassembled without a screwdriver. Sometimes, however, the bell can be detached, and in the case of instruments with a low A extension, the instrument often comes in two parts.
Range
With a range beginning at B0 (extending down a half-step to the lowest note on the piano on instruments with the low A extension or to A in one example), and extending up just over three octaves, the contrabassoon is the deepest available sound in an orchestra. Accordingly, the instrument is notated an octave above sounding pitch in bass clef, with tenor or even (rarely) treble clef called for in high passages. The instrument has a high range extending to middle C, but the top fifth is rarely used. Tonally, it sounds much like the bassoon except for a distinctive organ pedal quality in the lowest octave of its range which provides a solid underpinning to the orchestra. Although the instrument can have a distinct 'buzz', which becomes almost a clatter in the extreme low range, this is nothing more than a variance of tone quality which can be remediated by appropriate reed design changes. While prominent in solo and small ensemble situations, the sound can be completely obscured in the volume of the full orchestra.History
The contrabassoon was developed in the mid-18th century; the oldest surviving instrument, which came in four parts and had only three keys, was built in 1714. It was around that time that the contrabassoon began gaining acceptance in church music. However, until the late 19th century, the contrabassoon typically had a weak tone and poor intonation. For this reason the contrabass woodwind parts often were scored for, and contrabassoon parts were often played on, contrabass sarrusophoneContrabass sarrusophone
The Eb contrabass sarrusophone was the only sarrusophone that was ever mass produced in the United States. It was made by companies such as Gautrot, Couesnon, Romeo Orsi, Rampone , Buffet Crampon , and C.G...
or, less frequently, reed contrabass
Reed contrabass
The reed contrabass in C, otherwise known as the contrabass à anche, is a type of woodwind instrument. It is reminiscent of an ophicleide in appearance but, unlike the ophicleide, employs a double reed for the purpose of sound production...
, until improvements to the contrabassoon by Heckel in the late 19th century secured its place as the standard double reed contrabass. For more than a century, between 1880 and 2000, the contrabassoon of Heckel’s design remained relatively unchanged. A few keys were added during this time, most notably an upper vent key near the bocal socket, a tuning slide, and a few key linkages to facilitate technical passages.
Manufacturers
Currently, contrabassoons are made by W. Schreiber, Heckel, Fox, Wolf, Moennig, Moosman, Püchner, Adler, Amati and Mollenhauer (and possibly others). The Kalevi AhoKalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho is a Finnish composer.- Career :Born in Forssa, he studied composition at the Sibelius Academy under Einojuhani Rautavaara, receiving a diploma in 1971. He continued his studies for a year in Berlin with Boris Blacher...
Concerto for Contrabassoon (2005) was written for Lewis Lipnick of the National Symphony. It became the first contrabassoon concerto to be recorded and released by a major record label, BIS Records
BIS Records
BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....
.
Current use
Most orchestras use one contrabassoonist, either as a primary player or a bassoonist who doubles, as do a large number of symphonic bandConcert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
s and wind ensembles. In some rare circumstances they are found in wind quintet
Wind quintet
A wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group....
s.
While relatively rare, the instrument is most frequently found in larger symphonies, particularly those of Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, and Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
. The first composer to write a separate contrabassoon part in a symphony was Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, in his Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
(1808), although Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
(in his Music for the Royal Fireworks), Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
occasionally used it in other genres. Composers have often used the contrabassoon to comical or sinister effect by taking advantage of its clumsiness and its sepulchral rattle, respectively. A clear example of its sound can be heard in Paul Dukas
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
' The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas)
For the 2010 film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, see The Sorcerer's Apprentice .The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a symphonic poem by the French composer Paul Dukas, written in 1896-97. Subtitled "Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe," the piece was inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 poem of the...
.
Some modern composers such as Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
, Donald Erb
Donald Erb
Donald Erb was an American composer best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and Ritual Observances.-Early years:...
, Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho is a Finnish composer.- Career :Born in Forssa, he studied composition at the Sibelius Academy under Einojuhani Rautavaara, receiving a diploma in 1971. He continued his studies for a year in Berlin with Boris Blacher...
, and Daniel Dorff
Daniel Dorff
Daniel Dorff is an American composer, and is regarded as one of the most influential of his generation...
have written concertos for this instrument. Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and a cellist. He is known for chamber music and for unusual scoring, such as Piccolo Quintet, Bright Angel for three bassoons and contrabassoon, Chieftain's Salute for Great Highland Bagpipe and string orchestra, and works for speaking voice and cello,...
set Aztec Ceremonies for contrabassoon and piano. Orchestrally, the contrabassoon is featured in Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Mother Goose Suite, and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel)
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930, concurrently with his Piano Concerto in G. It was commissioned by the Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I....
.
It can also be clearly heard providing the bass line in the brief "Janissary
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
band" section of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
, just prior to the tenor solo.
Pitch
The contrabassoon acts as the lowest voice of the woodwind ensemble, and the lowest in the orchestra. It is also often used to support other mixed orchestrations, such as doubling the bass trombone or tubaTuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
at the octave. Frequent exponents of such scoring were Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
and Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
. Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
also used this instrument in both of his oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons
The Seasons (Haydn)
The Seasons is an oratorio by Joseph Haydn .-Composition, premiere, and reception:Haydn was led to write The Seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio The Creation , which had become very popular and was in the course of being performed all over Europe...
. In these works the part for the contrabassoon and the bass trombone are mostly, but not always, identical.
Reeds
On average, the contrabassoon reed is 70mm long and 20mm wide. The large blades allow ample vibration that produces the low register of the instrument. The contrabassoon reed is similar to an average bassoon reed in that scraping the reed affects both the intonation and response of the instrument.Notable contrabassoons
Prof. Dr. Werner Schulze of Austria owns a contrabassoon with an extension to A♭0, the note a half step below the lowest note on the piano.In 2001, Bavarian instrument makers Guntram Wolf and Benedikt Eppelsheim began collaborating on the reworking of the contrabassoon, resulting in a new instrument they call the Contraforte
Contraforte
The contraforte is a proprietary version of the contrabassoon produced by Benedikt Eppelsheim and Guntram Wolf. It is intended to have improved dynamics and intonation over the distinctive but sometimes reticent sound of the conventional contrabassoon...
. It has a larger bore, as well as larger tone holes, resulting in a slightly different tone from a normal contrabassoon. The Contraforte contains a natural extension down to A0, and several other features such as silent key movement and an automatic water drain. Lewis Lipnick, contrabassoonist for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, played it in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in October 2010.
Notable performers
One of the few contrabassoon soloists in the world is Susan Nigro, who lives and works in and around Chicago. Besides occasional gigs with orchestras and other ensembles (including regular substitute with the Chicago Symphony), her main work is as soloist and recording artist. Many works have been written specifically for her, and she has recorded several CDs.Henry Skolnick has performed and toured internationally on the instrument. He commissioned, premiered and recorded Aztec Ceremonies for contrabassoon by Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and a cellist. He is known for chamber music and for unusual scoring, such as Piccolo Quintet, Bright Angel for three bassoons and contrabassoon, Chieftain's Salute for Great Highland Bagpipe and string orchestra, and works for speaking voice and cello,...
. In 2008 he played the contrabassoon part in the premiere of the composer's Bright Angel
Bright Angel (Waterhouse)
Bright Angel is a composition for three bassoons and contrabassoon by Graham Waterhouse. It was composed in 2008 for the annual conference of the International Double Reed Society.- History :...
for three bassoons and contrabassoon at the annual conference of the International Double Reed Society
International Double Reed Society
The International Double Reed Society is a Finksburg, Maryland-based organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts....
in Provo
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
.