Investigating smaller bassoons from the XVIII and XIX centuries, with practical performance on a Baroque fagottino

Name: Hugo Rodríguez Arteaga Main Subject: Baroque Bassoon Research Supervisor: Johannes Boer Title of Research: Investigating smaller bassoons from the XVIII and XIX centuries, with practical performance on a Baroque fagottino Research Question: Is there a (lost) tradition using these instruments in the XVIII and XIX centuries? What are the musical and technical advantages and disadvantages of performing a piece with fagottino? Summary of Results: The idea of this study was to collect information about smaller-sized bassoons found in the XVIII and XIX centuries. Berlioz talks about the "quint bassoon", and other "fagottino" in his treatise about orchestration, and smaller bassoons called "tenor", "octave", and "quart" are described in James Kopp's book, The Bassoon. Today the modern "fagottino" is used to teach children, as the modern bassoon is too big and too heavy, but historical models have been strangely ignored in early music performance practice. Is there a (lost) tradition using these instruments in the XVIII and XIX centuries? What are the musical and technical advantages and disadvantages of performing a piece with fagottino? This research project is a mixed work: the written part has background information about instruments, titles and performers. A description of practical experimentation approaching one work with fagottino, as well as the observation of a young player’s first confrontation with the instrument is included. Biography: Hugo Rodríguez Arteaga began studying bassoon in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, in 1999 with Prof. Maximiano Vera. In 2007 he started studies at the Conservatorio Superior de Canarias with Ana Sánchez Clemente and finished with honors. He has played in ensembles as Orchestra of the 18th Century, Die Kölner Akademie, MusicAEterna, Capella Cracoviensis, Lutherse Bach Orchester, Les Vents Atlantiques, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Vox Luminis and more several groups. He has worked together with such conductors as Frans Brüggen, Teodor Currentzis, James Coonlon, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alfredo Bernardini, Marcus Creed, Kenneth Montgomery, Alessandro de Marchi, Michael Alexander Willems and Pietro Rizzo. Currently he is studying historical bassoons at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague with Donna Agrell, as well as orchestral conducting with Kenneth Montgomery, Alex Schillings and Jac van Steen. He is active as a historical and modern bassoonist with different period and symphony orchestras all over Europe.