Bass Oboe - History

History

Early bass oboes were either like bassoons, in that they had a boot joint and bocal (such as Triebert's instruments, which still had a bulb bell) and some holes drilled obliquely, or they were enlarged English horns. The concept of the bass oboe as an enlarged English horn survived, and an hautbois baryton redesigned by François Lorée was introduced in 1889.

Some confusion exists between the bass oboe and the heckelphone, a double reed instrument of similar register introduced by the firm of Wilhelm Heckel in 1904, and which is distinguished from standard members of the oboe family by its wider bore, different fingering system (on older instruments), and larger bell. As a result it is not always clear, in English orchestral works of this period, which of the two instruments is intended when the composer specifies the "bass oboe".

Yet another similar instrument, the Lupophon, has been developed by Guntram Wolf, who describes it as "the new bass oboe".

The bass oboe has not as yet come into its own as a solo instrument; only a single solo bass oboe concerto has been written to date (The East Coast, by English composer Gavin Bryars, composed in 1994). The work was written for the Canadian performer Lawrence Cherney, who uses a bass oboe manufactured by F. Lorée. Robert Moran's Survivor From Darmstadt, for nine amplified bass oboes, was commissioned by oboist Nora Post and premiered in 1984. At least one sonata for bass oboe and piano, by Simon Zaleski, has been written.

In Gustav Holst's "The Planets" the instrument is used to great effect, providing a tone of which no other instrument is capable. Notable solo lines include some faint parts during "Mars", during the bitonal runs in the woodwind in "Mercury", numerous exposed lines in the quieter moments of "Saturn" (probably the best example of a solo in the whole work), and in the 5th and 6th bars of the bassoon's soli after the opening notes of "Uranus". The bass oboe is also prominently featured in the First Interlude of Sir Michael Tippett's Triple Concerto. There is also a very substantial solo in the second movement of Thomas Ades' "Asyla".

The instrument has been manufactured sporadically by various companies, including F. Lorée, Marigaux, Rigoutat, Fossati, and others. It is usually a "special order" instrument, and its purchase price may exceed that of a top-of-the-line English horn.