ABSTRACT
The bassoon, by the nature of its sturdy construction, had a better chance of survival than a flute. Michael Praetorius in his De Organographia of 1619 makes no mention of a jointed bassoon, only referring to various sizes of 'fagot' of single-piece construction. In 1636 Marin Mersenne describes various types of 'Bassons, Fagots' in his Harmonie Universelle, clearly referring to members of the curtal family. An engraving by Christoph Weigel dated 1698 shows an instrument maker in his workshop working on a curtal with a typical four-jointed baroque bassoon laid against his workbench. The business card of the Dutch maker Coenraad Rykel shows a four-keyed bassoon, and dates from around the turn of the century. For the player of the modern bassoon, coming to the baroque bassoon for the first time presents a number of problems to be tackled, none of which are insurmountable. The baroque bassoon does not require a great deal of maintenance and most repairs are straightforward.
