tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28479885902182176572024-03-06T07:07:38.209+00:00A Story of an Old BassoonMichał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-65346917880600278352011-01-08T14:38:00.000+00:002011-01-08T14:38:46.770+00:00Chapter 11: The woodAs I'm not a wood expert I still don't know what exactly my bassoon is made of but I have learnt few things.
Firstly I know that according to Horniman museum their specimen is made of cocuswood. Secondly from the Hawkes & Son catalog I know that in 1912 they used rosewood or red fox to make their bassoons, rosewood, violet wood and black african wood for oboes and black african or cocuswood Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-70774719019387015952010-10-30T16:43:00.000+01:002010-10-30T16:43:19.361+01:00Chapter 10: Horniman high hopesWhen I've learnt that the entire archive of Boosley & Hawkes along with their collection of instruments has been passed to Horniman Museum in London my hopes were high. It meant that not only the documents were in a know place but they were reasonably close accessible. So I thought...
I have sent few emails and soon I got a response from Gavin Dixon working there. It read
"Given the researchMichał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-30941684211120122372010-09-30T16:38:00.001+01:002010-10-30T14:37:55.305+01:00Chapter 9: Slowing down but not giving upThe things have slowed but I'm not giving up. I know nothing has been posted here for over a week now but I had to catch up with some of my other projects (those generating money) and quite naturally everything is slowing down. At the beginning everything was new and it was very easy to find out new things. But now the more I know about it all the harder it is to find any extra bit.
But Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-76833710684291562752010-09-16T20:44:00.001+01:002010-09-16T20:45:50.748+01:00Chapter 8. Brute ForceThanks to the Basson Français group members and gentle application of brute force the mystery has been finally solved.
I presented the pictures and the 3d model on the group's forum asking for help and soon I got some ideas as to what the mysterious thing may be but nobody sure about it. General conclusion was that most likely it is not part of the bassoon but rather Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-61126001028355733872010-09-15T09:02:00.001+01:002010-09-15T09:02:00.583+01:00Itermission.As I mentioned in the introduction, one of the reasons to buy the bassoon was to give myself some real job. Nothing virtual like this blog-writing but a real, tangible hobby to be a counterweight to my daily routine.
The old bassoon is my very first restoration project and as such it is a kind of twofold experiment. Firstly I wanted to see if I can do it; secondly if I will enjoy it. So farMichał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-5641817708420261832010-09-14T22:47:00.000+01:002010-09-14T22:47:23.462+01:00Chapter 7. The mysterious whistleAlready on the first day I was surprised to see a wooden pipe sticking out of the butt's bass bore. In modern German instruments it's the tenor bore that has lining but that is usually much more subtle. Only when I opened the bottom seal I realised that the bass bore is actually blocked. I mean the air can get through but the view is obstructed (left on the picture). I don't know if it has been Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-49174651988134704252010-09-13T10:34:00.159+01:002010-09-13T10:34:00.119+01:00Chapter 6. Stripping the buttOver last few days I have been successively removing parts from the butt.
First of all I wanted to know exactly the condition of the both ends so I took off the metal rims. The top one looked all right but after cleansing two cracks became apparent. They both go vertically from the top down but do not extend beyond the joint and the rim. On the picture one is quite obvious as you can see Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-66152331470824466842010-09-10T20:22:00.002+01:002010-09-12T21:53:12.157+01:00Chapter 5. The un-deliveryYesterday from the very morning I was waiting. I knew the bassoon has been shipped the night before with DHL and that over night it was transported to Capel Hendre from where it was supposed to be delivered to me.
The day before I talked to Mike and Jeremy from Spiel Productions and we decided to try to make a short documentary about the whole thing; so as soon as Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-79429612356567895032010-09-09T20:25:00.003+01:002010-09-14T08:28:23.380+01:00Chapter 4. The first impressionIt has been delivered today. The way it happened is probably worth a post on its own but for now the most important thing is that the bassoon has arrived and I was able to see, measure and examine it. Here are a few pictures of it.
My first impression is very good. When compared to what I'm used to it is a bit smaller and very light, dusty, here and there green and generally... old. It has an Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-81309786800054163562010-09-08T22:38:00.003+01:002010-09-12T21:32:35.131+01:00Chapter 3. The first step backQuite naturally the first step to learn about the instrument's history was to contact the previous owner. You'd think that's who I bought it from but it wasn't so. The instrument was sold to my on behalf on the owner by his neighbour. Dodgy it may sound it looks to be legitimate all right. When I asked the seller gave me the owner's phone number with whom I spoke last night over the phone.
But Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-7420698884267983912010-09-07T12:18:00.008+01:002010-09-12T21:34:38.493+01:00Chapter 2. The game is afootCome, Watson, come! The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!The bassoon should be dispatched today. While waiting I continue to google for anything I can related to Hawkes and French bassoons, looking for information as well as contacts. I may need it soon.
So far I have learnt some history of the manufacturer (some details are outlined in the previous post) and Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-85679252420513189842010-09-06T19:12:00.002+01:002010-09-12T21:13:29.691+01:00Chapter 1. HawkesTo be honest I hadn't paid much attention to the auction until I actually have won it. After all I didn't know much about it. I knew it was shaped bassoon-like, was allegedly about 80 years old and surprisingly cheap at only £40 at the time; and was manufactured in London by Hawkes of whom I have never heard before. But it all has changed now. Now the main question is no longer 'Why should Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2847988590218217657.post-63151890864067166602010-09-05T22:02:00.003+01:002010-09-12T21:06:33.800+01:00Introduction. A long, long time ago...So here it starts. Just a moment ago I have bought an old bassoon on ebay auction and paid for it £133.
I spotted it accidentally only two days ago and all I know about it is that it apparently was manufactured by (or for) Hawkes & Son in London about 80 years ago. All I have seen so far were few poor quality pictures. I think that under the manufacturers stamp there is a number 13 showing. Michał Porębahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04613527942241971994noreply@blogger.com0