WILL JANSEN The Bassoon, its History, Construction, Makers, Players and Music 3 volumes, about 1800 pages, 46 chapters and 4 appendices. With 700 illustration, of which over 675 never published before, on 260 plates.
With 175 music examples,40 tables and 113 facsimile drawings of historic bassoon makers' stamps.
Among the vast amount of data, there are the biographies of over 630 bassoon makers, 460 historic bassoon players, and 420 players of today.
With an extensive bibliography of about 5500 works composed for bassoon(s) solo and varied ensemble music for woodwinds including bassoons.
With an extensive discography of 1460 compositions on gramophone records.
With a very complete bibliography of 420 works of study, comprising bassoon tutors, exercises, fingering charts, scales and excerpts from difficult orchestral parts.
A few words by the author to the reader
In bookpublishing, as in life, things do not always go as speedily as one wishes.
The publication of a large work like this one requires a lot of time in preparation, in calculating, contemplating and organizing, before the typesetter gets the first pages of the manuscripts in his hand. I know, and all of us who are involved know, that many of you have been waiting for the book to appear. I rarely receive a letter without the enquiry as when it will be published . Well, here is some good news: the job has started and you are going to see very much of my book in the course of 1978. I has been an enormous task to compile the book and for the publisher it is a huge undertaking--for both of us it is a heartwarming experience to realise how much interest the book arouses and how many orders have already come in.
Your patience will not be tried much longer-- the work is "under way".
January 1978
Will Jansen
And a word by the publisher
For scholarship and special expertise I usually know where to seek advice. Confronted by the manuscript of The Bassoon I made enquiries for a reader expert in that instrument, only to be told that no one knows more about the subject than the author. . .
This must be reason enough to publish the book without hestitation.
Frits Knuf