(Editor's note: The author, a leading scholar on the subject of the Boehm system applied to different woodwinds, has offered us permission to translate and reprint this important paper on the history of attempts to apply Boehm's ideas to the bassoon. Mr. Ventzke's article originally appeared in a fine new publication from Moeck Verlag (Celle, W. Germany): TIBIA {January, 1976). TIBIA, printed only in German, contains valuable information on another subject of interest to many members of IDRS - early woodwind instruments.)
The historical path taken by woodwind instruments is marked by two brilliant ideas. The first: the use of specific, though in places irregular conical bore to extend the range of notes and to equalize the voicing of particular notes, especially those produced by overblowing. In doing so, it was still possible to choose the position of the fingerings - for the most part - from the point of view of comfort. This principle originated within the circle of musicians at the French court after 1650 (particularly the Hotteterres) and reached an unsurpassed pinnacle of success in the baroque blockflute. And the second: the use of keys so that the fingerings could be positioned at the acoustically "correct" points and made the right size to produce the optimal volume for the note as well as the purest and most consistent harmonic content possible for each note in the scale - this achieving its pinnacle of success in Boehm's transverse flute. This, the Boehm system, however, found few adherents when applied to the bassoon, part of the reason for this being, obviously, because it altered the bassoon's character too greatly. The editors (TIBIA) are indebted to Karl Ventzke for his short study on this subject. He has dealt more extensively with Boehm's principles in his book, "Boehm-Oboen".
In view of the worldwide success of the Boehm flute and the ever-increasing spread throughout the world of the clarinet built according to the Boehm system, one is perfectly justified in wondering about an equally advantageous application of Boehm's construction principles to the bassoon. After all, Boehm himself expressed the hope that his system would, mutatis mutandis, lead to the improvement of all wind instruments with side fingerings and keys. In practice, one must admit that the efforts made in the course of the last century to turn the system used in the Boehm flute to the advantage of the bassoon did not meet with far-reaching success, despite the fact that Boehm's basic principles of construction offered a good basis for so doing.
The following contribution to the history of the application of the Boehm system to bassoon-making will be restricted to evaluating texts which have come down to us. It will only be possible here to provide the stimulus for a more extensive research work and one, perhaps, of greater value to the understanding of the practical musician: namely the examination and utilization of those prototype bassoons dating from the pioneer days of the Boehm system which are still in existence.
Historical information on our topic of discussion can be found in the following sources (which will henceforth be quoted by record number and, where applicable, page number):
1. (Anonymous) Theobald Boehm and seine Flöte. In: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Leipzig 1850. S. 181 f.
2. N. Bessaraboff: Ancient European Musical Instruments . . . in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Harvard 1941
3. R. Bragard/F. de Hen: Musikinstrumente aus zwei Jahrtausenden. Folge VIII-IX: Romanik und Impressionismus. Stuttgart 1968
4. G. Chouquet: Catalogue. . Musée du Conservatoire National. Pads 1875
5. F.J. Fétis: Rapports du Jury International, Exposition Universelle de 1867 a Pads, Groupe II, Classe 10. Paris 1868
6. F. Groffy: Musikhistorisches Museum Heckel, Biebrich, Abt. Fagotte. (Wiessbaden) 1968
7. A. Jonak: Bericht über die . . . Ausstellung zu Paris . . . 1855. II Band, XXVI. Heft. Vienna 1857/58
8. E. Krakamp: Metodo per Fagotto. Milano (1872)
9. R. Lang: Über die Verbesserung des Fagotts, In: Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau. Jg. 1892/93, Leipzig. S. 62 u. 109 f.
10. L. G. Langwill: The Bassoon and Contra-Bassoon. London...1965
11. A. Marzoli: Tablature du Basson Systeme Triébert, base sur les principes acoustiques du célèbre Boehm. Pads (1855)
12. E. Paur: Amtlicher Bericht über die Industrie-und Kunst-Ausstellung zu London im Jahre 1862, Band 1, Berlin 1863
13. C. Pierre: Les Facteurs d'lnstruments de Musique. Paris 1893
14. G. Tamplini: Course of Instructions W for Military Musical Instruments. Book W 5 - Bassoon. London (1856)
15. G. Tamplini: Brevi Cenni sul Sistema Boehm della sua Applicazione al Fagotto. Bologna 1888
16. G. Tamplini: Kurze Hinweise zum System Boehm und zu seiner Anwendung beim Fagott. Deutsche Übersetzung von Dr. D. Hilkenbach. Manuskript 1969
17. C. Ward: British Patent Nr. 140 from 1853. The Patent Office, London Prototype instruments are preserved in the following public museums: Brussels (illustration and description in 3,260) Boston (illustration and description in 2,133) Paris (description in 4); as well as in the private collection belonging to W. Waterhouse in London; and also in the Heckel collection in Wiesbaden (illustration and description in 6).
It was in 1847 that Theobald Boehm [ (1794-1881), who developed the construction system named after him and applied it originally to the flute, first expressed his expectation that he would obtain "equally favorable results" to those obtained with the flute by transferring his principles to the bassoon. In 1850 we hear of his work (1, 183): "The bassoon, which is just as greatly, if not more so, in need of a complete transformation, is now in Boehm's hands. A bassoon joint, incorporating all the tone-holes, is already completed, and it comes up to expectations, the speaking of every note is light and assured, the tone is full-bodied, very powerful and pure. The invention of a new and practicable fingering system is the difficult task now faced by Boehm. And so we shall soon possess wind instruments which, having been based on natural principles, are in keeping with the current state of development in science and art. A new era is thus beginning for the true virtuoso, and for orchestral music as well which, no longer restricted by imperfect instruments, will be able to blossom to the full extent of its power and depth." This stage of development received further amplifying comment in the report on the World Exhibition held in London in 1851, to the effect that Boehm had "extended his fingering system for the oboe to the bassoon."
The next - and final - piece of news about Boehm's own work on improving the bassoon is found in the report on the World Exhibition held in Paris in 1855 (7, 38): "The inventor himself has already applied his system to the oboe and the bassoon. His models of these instruments were on display in Paris. The bassoon model consisted of a straight brass long-joint incorporating the necessary tone holes and wooden stops . . .The sounding of the notes on these instruments (oboe and bassoon models. Ed.) once again proved the correctness of the principles underlying the Boehm system. . ."
Earlier, Boehm had already contacted a specialized workshop devoted to bassoon making, namely the firm of Triébert & Cie. in Paris. Boehm committed himself to "drawing up plans for a new bassoon using his system" (16) for this workshop, and with these plans, Boehm's contributions to the improvement of the bassoon were at an end.
Thanks to the high qualifications of its owners, the Paris firm of Triébert & Cie. offered ideal conditions for the further development of the Boehm-system bassoon: Frederic Triébert enjoyed international renown as a maker of first class oboes and bassoons, while Angelo Marzoli (? - 1865), being a member of the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire and first bassoonist at the Italian Theater in Paris, was able to demonstrate in a practical sense the musical suitability of the new instrument. The Boehm-system bassoon, conceived by these two with Boehm's support, was not ready for the World Exhibition of 1855 in Paris, but nevertheless received accolades in advance (7, 41): "Triébert and his associate Marzoli, working in cooperation with Boehm, who has . . . entrusted them with the application of his system, are said to have succeeded in making a bassoon which satisfies every demand with respect to the beauty, purity, the easy speaking of all the notes, and the mechanism of which is of such a kind that one may now execute with ease those passages which were so difficult using the old system. In this perfected form, however, the instrument was ready too late for it to be possible to incorporate it in the exhibition."
And indeed, this instrument did appear to justify the brightest hopes. Tamplini recalled the events of 1855 in Paris as follows (16): ". . .Then he (Triébert) made his bassoon in accordance with Boehm's instructions, and the result was a piece of work perfect in every respect, save for the sound, which was judged by the masters of the period, among whom were Rossini, Auber, Meyerbeer, etc., to be too metallic, brassy and unlike a normal bassoon - though at the same time, as such, attractive, clean and very uniform over the entire range. But the same can be said of the sound of the flute and other instruments to which the new system has been applied; it also took some time for their qualities to be recognized!"
Not long after 1855, Marzoli published a detailed fingering chart for the new bassoon (11); a simplified form of this chart was adopted by Krakamp for use in his bassoon method (8).
The Boehm-system bassoon by Triébert and Marzoli was a much-admired exhibit at the World Exhibition of 1862 in London (12, 102): "Significant in design and admirable in the perfection of their execution were the instruments by Triébert of Paris. The positioning of the tone holes for these was the work of our fellow countryman Boehm, and it is to his diligence as well as to the zeal of the artistically sensitive manufacturer that we own an instrument which, of its kind, deserves to be called perfect. The Triébert bassoon is uniformly beautiful in all octaves and is possessed of a pure and noble tone. The low register is light in speaking, and the staccato can be executed with astonishing speed. However, the fact cannot be disguised there are almost more keys to be seen on it than wood."
At the next World Exhibition in Paris in 1867, the fate of the Boehm-system bassoon by Triébert seems already to have been sealed, however. Marzoli, the musician who had pioneered the instrument, had died in 1865, and a successor with a recognized name had not been found. Fétis mentions another important reason for the decline in interest (5, 284): the unusually high price. Pierre (13, 319) gives this as being 1200 francs. Against this, a normal bassoon cost (from 13, 391) 280-320 francs.
Independently of the developments in Paris, and somewhat earlier, the Italian bassoonist Giuseppe Tamplini (1817 - 1888) in London had concerned himself with transferring the Boehm system to the bassoon. He writes: "Early in 1847, as I was on my way to London to take up an appointment as first bassoonist at the Royal Theatre, I had an excellent opportunity to admire the superior quality of the oboes and clarinets made in Paris using the Boehm system. I studied and followed these innovations with such a lively interest that I hit upon the idea of attempting on my own initiative to transfer the same system to the bassoon. My friendship with the well-known manufacturer Mr. Cornelius Ward, in whose house I was living at the time, facilitated the fulfillment of this desire. And thus, a model was designed and manufactured quite rapidly, and for a first attempt, it was a very pleasing success. . . Its sound possesses, indeed, an attractive, expressive, pathetic quality, even though in the middle and upper registers of its range it sounds somewhat nasal, wheezy, and one could almost say somewhat strangled, while the low and very low notes seem grotesque and snorting. But it is not devoid of charm or power and mixes well with the other instruments and timbres in the mass of the orchestra."
Ward and Tamplini exhibited this bassoon at the World Exhibition of 1851 in London, Ward took out a patent on it in 1853 (17), and Tamplini even published a fingering chart for it in 1856 (14).
But this model of the bassoon did not manage to gain wide circulation either. Soon after the World Exhibition, the Royal Theatre in London closed down, Tamplini took a post as a music director with the English army and as such was unable to concern himself with this work for several decades.
One totally independent application of the Boehm system to the bassoon is presented not in writing but in the form of a surviving instrument: this is the work of the instrument-maker Heinrich Joseph Haseneier (1798 - 1890) of Coblenz. The instrument may date from around 1860. We do not know who is responsible for its having been made. In 1861, Boehm spent several months in Bad Ems for his health. It is possible that on this occasion he was in touch with Haseneier, who was very well-known as a bassoon specialist at the time.
The Boehm-system bassoon offers a graphic example of the restrictions and difficulties involved in introducing innovations for the benefit of musical art. In conclusion, we shall again let the experienced Tamplini himself have his say on this topic (16): "The experience which was gained at that time from all the work put in on improving the bassoon bore no fruit. What, then, are the reasons which must be ascribed to the failure of these further efforts at freeing the bassoon from such a state of imperfection? Lack of knowledge, prejudice, habit and - above all - private interests. All of this will continually oppose any progress in the art of music. --Professional musicians, particularly those who already occupy a good position, will be for the most part disinclined to depart from the old systems which have cost them so many years of training; for of course they would have to forget what they had learned of these before they could make use of the new systems. --Instrument makers, for their part, will likewise display little inclination, because the new systems, based on scientific principles, demand a serious study of mathematics and mechanics. When in addition one adds the expense of new instruments and new books of instruction for the one party, and new machines, plan diagrams and tools for the other, one may easily form an idea of the obstacles met by innovators of this kind. As evidence, one may cite the fact that the first to accept the Boehm flute in England were the amateurs, an extremely intelligent and well to-do class of people; they then forced it upon the professors by refusing to take instruction from masters who were not familiar with the new system! - And as for the inventors, they should never expect rewards for their troubles, but rather nothing but expense, high costs and endless affliction, even though their intent may produce complete success . . . The conservatories, grammar-schools, and all the seats of music education could do a great deal by making compulsory the study of improvements which, little by little, should be incorporated in the instruments; provided, of course, that each innovation is subjected to a thoroughgoing examination and passes the judgment of competent and impartial specialists who have practical experience."