Vivaldi composed 39 concerti for it. Others to use it as solo instrument include J. C. Bach, Telemann, and Boismortier. Often used for comic effect but its capacity for melancholy has not been overlooked by composers. Wind instrument an octave deeper than bassoon and notated an octave higher than it sounds, though Wagner and Debussy sometimes wrote for it at pitch. Conical bore tube is 18' long, with 5 parallel sections connected by 5 U-bends.
Crook fits into metal tube.
Brahms scored for it in his 1st Symphony. In Strauss's Salome there is a long solo for the instrument when Jokanaan descends into his cell. Wind instruments such as oboe , cor anglais , Heckelphone, bassoon , and contrabassoon , whose mouthpiece consists of 2 pieces of cane between which air is blown so that the 2 reeds vibrate against each other.