The Washington times., 1935-11-23

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powerful nor obtrusive but still it
Is penetrating. It has a peculiar
and distinctive voice that may
sound Sportive and happy in quick
passages or sad with pleading
and plaintive appeal in slow move
mentS.
AS the oboe Is built with a
conical bore, the registers are in
octaveS. Starting with a few holes
in a reed to which the straw
mouthpiece was attached, holes
and keys have been added in what
seems to be an indiscriminate
manner until now the oboe is one
Of the most complicated Of reed
instruments.
lingering Systems
There are systems Of lingering
known as the conservatory and
military systems, each with vary
ing arrangements Of keys, so that
the beginner is confronted with
diverging claims as to the better
system.
Doubtless the future will see a
return to simpler and more uri.
form system Of lingering. Prob
ably the regular saxophone finger.
ing will be the eventual form as
this Boehm system Is well known
and Is accurate in intonation.
Metal oboeS are even now avail
able built with the regular Saxo-
phone lingering.
BY the beginning Of the nine.
teenth century, the key mechan-
ism Of the oboe had been developed
sufficiently to allow average pas
eageS to be performed with facil-
1ty. The sound must have been
somewhat heavier than the mod
ern instrument as the reed mouth
piece was twice as wide judging
from the reed used by RosSinis
oboist in 1923.
Because the tone Of the oboe is
80 different from that Of any
other instrument Of the orches-
ira, it is frequently used in solo
passages, in unison passages, and
sometimes for establishment pas
Sages.
In the course Of the develop
ment Of the oboe family, a full
family Of different voiced instru-
mentS has been designed, but the
soprano oboe in C, the alto Eng
lish horn in F and the basSoon,
an octave lower than the English
horn are in common use today.
Occasionally O. contra-baSSoon,
sounding an octave lower than
the notes appear in the bass clef,
Is called for in scores.
English Horn
The English horn is neither
English, nor can it rightly be
called a horn.
The name probably came from
the fact that the earlier models
were bent with several angles,
hence the term angled horn, or
cor angle in French. From these
names 1t has evidently been but
q step to the name now given it.
A peculiar melancholy or re-
Elective sadness characterizeS the
tone Of the English horn. One Of
the best known examples Of the
use Of this dark-toned instrument
Is in the Largo movement Of
Dvorak'S New World Symphony"
remembered by many as the tune
Of Coin Home"
AS early as Gluck'S time, parts
were written for the English horn
in "AlceSte," and "Orfeo," but
the part was usually played by a
clarinet as English horns were
scarce at that time. The English
horn came into general use in the
symphony orchestra in Wagner's
time.
In shape, the English horn is
about . third longer than the
oboe, uses a bent tube to hold
the mouthpiece, and the bell is
pear shaped. Owing to its infre-
quent use in the orcheSra, one Of
the oboe players usually doubles
on the English horn.
The bassoon is built with a
conical bore and the tubing Is
about eight feet in length. The
size of the tube at the n1outhpiece
is 3/16 Of an inch and widens
out to ~ inches at the bell. The
double reed is attached to the in
strun1ent by means Of a curved
pipe.
"FagOtto"
AS most baSsoonS are made Of
wood, the straight sections double
back together so that the holes
and key may be brought within
reach Of the fingers of the player,
giving rise to the title fagotto-a
bundle Of fagotS.
While the basSoon is used largely
as q bass instrument, its large
range allows florid passages es.
pecially in the upper register.
Handel in Saul" Mozart, and
Beethoven realized its melodic pos.
Eibilties and frequently wrote for
1t accordingly.
The baSSoon is sometimes called
the playboy of the orchestra as
fast passages in the upper register
give a decidedly humorous effect.
Another instrument similar to
the bassoon and contra-bassoon is
made Of metal and is known as
the SarruSaphone. Sarrus, a
French army band leader con.