Virtual Tour of "Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848" Bassoon by Jean Nicolas Savary jeune, Paris, 1823 NMM 2418.  Bassoon by Jean Nicolas Savary jeune, Paris, 1823. Stamped on bell: * / Savary / jeune / A PARIS / *. Tiger maple. Brass mounts. Eleven brass keys. SATW. Two wing joints, of which one has two mechanical brass tuning slides. The butt joint also has a tuning slide. The long joint has one extension. Wing joint 420 mm; butt joint 423 mm; long joint 499 mm; bell joint 330 mm; height 1252 mm. Octagonal wooden case, fitted for 5 joints and the bocal. A splendid example of cutting-edge experimentation in Paris at the time, this marvelous bassoon is a one-of-a-kind example, featuring mechanically operated tuning slides on each joint, an extra wing joint, and a "tip-up" butt that allowed the tubing to be extended there, as well, all contained in a deluxe mahogany case. Savary was a famous French bassoonist, as well as the leading bassoon maker of his day, and a number of his bassoons survive in various collections, but this appears to be the only surviving example of this unique model, which is otherwise known only by advertisements placed in trade journals in 1823, the same date that is stamped on the instrument. As is sometimes the case, the mechanism is too complicated, making it difficult to maintain, and players must have thought it easier simply to "lip" a note up or down to play in tune. This may well have been a prototype, the only example that Savary built. Ex coll.: de Cicogna family, Milan. Board of Trustees, 1985. Details of Sections of the Bassoon Special Mechanisms Left and Right:  Mechanical Tuning Slide Extension Left:  Tuning Slide in Butt Joint Two Mechanical Tuning Slides in Extra Wing Joint Source:  André P. Larson, Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848, with essay by John Koster, exhibition catalog, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 12-November 2, 2003 (Vermillion: National Music Museum 2003), p. 50.   Click arrow to continue Virtual Tour of Beethoven and Berlioz Exhibition Go to Beethoven and Berlioz Exhibition Virtual Tour Index Go to Virtual Gallery Tour Index Exhibition catalog and poster available from Gift Shop National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069 ©National Music Museum, 2003-2014 Most recent update: February 26, 2014 The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page