A Bassoon by Hirschstein: the Instrument and Its Possible Use in the Military
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DAVID RACHOR A Bassoon by Hirschstein: The Instrument and Its Possible Use in the Military Not a great deal is known about Mathaus purchased on eBay.1 Through a bit of detective Hirschstein (cl695-1760),3 although there is I recently work, I have discovered acquired that the a'maker's bassoon mark' in Belgium that I some documentary evidence that links him with on the instrument is that of Mathaus Hirschstein, important woodwind makers active in Leipzig a music dealer active in Leipzig during the second during the first half of the eighteenth century. third of the eighteenth century. The stamp is faint For example, Hirschstein was requested to stand but legible, and after looking at other Hirschstein as godfather in 1726 to one of the children of instruments with similar stamps I am convinced Johann Heinrich Eichentopf.4 In 1744, Hirschstein that it is a Hirschstein bassoon. Since this is the was established as a musical instrument dealer in only bassoon known today with a Hirschstein Leipzig: using surviving instruments as a guide, he mark, and there are so few other extant Hirschstein was most likely in the business of primarily selling instruments,2 this bassoon is very important. woodwind As instruments. However, Paul de Wit refers Hirschstein was a dealer rather than an instrument to Hirschstein in his Geigenzettel alter Meister manufacturer a possible maker of the instrument vom 16. bis zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts so it is will be explored in this article. The question of possible a that he also had some dealings in stringed possible military use for the bassoon will also beinstruments.5 Hirschstein appears to have had great considered. Like many bassoons of the period, the business acumen and at his death left considerable instrument is of maple and originally had four brass wealth, including land and personal effects. Indeed, keys, but it also has some interesting and unusual Hirschstein and two other compatriots, the Leipzig features that deserve special comment. musical instrument makers Johann August Crone 1 My thanks to James Kopp and Sharon Hansen for reading the draft of this article and for providing helpful suggestions. 2 The following is a list of the known signed Hirschstein instruments: two oboe d'amore (Museum fiir Musikinstrumente der Universitat Leipzig, nos. 1337 and 1337a); a one-keyed flute in A (Musikinstrumenten-Museum, Berlin, no. 2672); and a one-keyed flute (Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., no. 272). See William Waterhouse, The New Langwill Index: a Dictionary of Musical Wind-instrument Makers and Inventors (London: Tony Bingham, 1991), p.177. 3 In The New Langwill Index, p.177, Waterhouse gives the death date of Hirschstein as 1769, but according to Giinter Dullat, Verzeichnis der Holz-und Metallblasinstrumentenmacher auf deutschsprachigem Gebiet (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 2010), p.216, Hirschstein died in 1760. 4 Waterhouse, The New Langwill Index, p.177. 5 Willibald Liitgendorff, De Geigen und Lautenmacher vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart (Frankfurt am Main: Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt A.G.,1922), 2, p.218. 117 This content downloaded from 134.161.122.50 on Mon, 02 Jul 2018 22:51:50 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Galpin Society Journal and Johann Friedrich Schwabe, shipped boxes of could place his stamp on an instrument is important musical instruments throughout Europe as far to this study.10 In comparison, it is interesting to as England, Portugal, Poland and Lithuania.6 It is note that the London firm of Longman and Broderip also known that Hirschstein kept a warehouse in purchased finished keyboard instruments from Frankfurt an der Oder, probably to facilitate the Thomas Culliford and Company,11 whilst at the same shipment of instruments to the east. Three years time supplying John Geib with all the necessary after the death of Hirschstein, his widow Johanna materials to make musical instruments and only Regina married Christoph Jonathan Korner, who paying him for his work.12 continued to operate the Hirschstein firm until his The Verlag system that operated in Leipzig at this death in 1767. How the firm continued after this is time may be demonstrated by the huge order of 64 unclear, but it was eventually sold in either 1772 bassoons in 1788 by the dealer Johann August Crone or 1774.7 (1727-1804) from Carl Wilhelm Sattler (1738-88).13 Herbert Heyde has shown that instrument Carl Wilhelm Sattler was an independent woodwind making in Leipzig during this period frequently maker who, when business was slow, also worked as followed a business model known as the Verlag a subcontractor and undertook piecework for other (out-working) principle, a system of subcontracting makers. However, it was Crone who, as Verleger, between instrument makers.8 The image of anprovided the materials and money to advance the instrument maker working alone in his workshop production of these bassoons, which were made over on a single instrument appears far from the truth.9 a period of just sixteen weeks between 13 April and Established Leipzig master instrument makers 7 August 1788. It is also known that Sattler employed frequently employed several journeymen and often three journeymen in his shop and subcontracted his made instruments for other makers. Complete brother-in-law Gregorius Ludewig,14 an independent instruments were made by independent makers brass instrument maker, to make the brass but it was often the contractor or Verleger who put components of the bassoons. The need for such a his stamp on the instrument. This system is quite large quantity of bassoons in Leipzig at this time will different from another eighteenth-century business be discussed later in the paper. model in which parts of the instruments were made by several journeymen and then assembled by aGENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE master maker. In my opinion, Hirschstein contracted HIRSCHSTEIN BASSOON a woodwind maker to make the bassoon and then Of the four original keys (F, A-flat, D and B-flat), only put his own stamp on the instrument. The fact thatthe D and B-flat keys on the long joint and the F key only the proprietor of a workshop or a merchant touch on the boot survive; the A-flat key is lost.15 6 Herbert Heyde, 'Der Holzblasinstrumentenbau in Leipzig in der 2. Halfte des 18. Jahrhunderts', Tibia 3 (1987), p.482. 7 According to Dullat, Verzeichnis der Holz-und Metallblasinstrumentenmacher, p.216, the Hirschstein firm was sold in 1772; however, Heyde, 'Der Holzblasinstrumentenbau in Leipzig', p.483, gives the year of sale as 1774. 8 Herbert Heyde, 'Entrepreneurship in pre-industrial instrument making', Musikalische Auffiihrungspraxis in nationalen Dialogen des 16. Jahrhunderts, Teil 2, Musikinstrumentenbau-Zentren im 16. Jahrhundert, edited by Boje Schmuhl (Augsburg: Wifiner-Verlag and Stiffung Kloster Michaelstein, 2007), p.56. 9 The famous engraving of 1698 by Christoph Weigel, which depicts a lone bassoon maker, possibly Denner, working on a dulcian comes to mind. See William Waterhouse, 'Bassoon', The New Gove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), 2, p.883. 10 Herbert Heyde, 'Makers' marks on wind instruments', in Waterhouse, The New Langwill Index, p.xix. 11 See Jenny Nex, 'Culliford and Company: Keyboard Instrument Makers in Georgian London', Early Keyboard Journal 22 (2004), pp.7-48. 12 See Jenny Nex and Lance Whitehead, 'Musical Instrument Making in Georgian London, 1753-1809: Evidence from the Proceedings of the Old Bailey and the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace', Eighteenth-century Music 2/2 (September 2005), pp.251-71. 13 Herbert Heyde, 'Entrepreneurship in pre-industrial instrument making', pp.56-7. 14 Dullat, Verzeichnis der Holz-und Metallblasinstrumentenmacher, p.401. 15 For the terminology used to describe the keys and parts of the bassoon, see Philipp Young, 4900 Historical Woodwind Instruments: An Inventory of 200 Makers in International Collections (London: Tony Bingham, 1993), pp.xi-xii. This content downloaded from 134.161.122.50 on Mon, 02 Jul 2018 22:51:50 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Rachor — Hirschstein Table 1.1. Measurements Measurements (in (inmillimetres) millimetres) may be the remnants of a lyre music holder, is of the Hirschstein bassoon. original, but considering its condition it seems to be Overall assembled length 2129 (915 +1214) very old (Figure 2 in the colour section). Height (assembled boot joint, long 1214 SPRINGS joint and bell) The one extant spring on the boot joint is made Wing length (including tenon) 537 of brass about 0.5mm thick, and is located under 424 Boot joint length where the A-flat key would have been (Figure 3 in Long joint length (including tenons) 599 the colour section). It is fixed to the body with a Bell length 277 pin into the wood. The spring under the F key flap Wing joint bottom tenon diameter 17.6 x 18.1 is missing but appears to have been attached to the body of the instrument in the same manner as the Long joint bottom tenon diameter 23.4x24.4 A-flat key spring, since there is a hole in the wood Long joint top tenon diameter 30.3 x 31.0 between where both the saddles and the spring Bell end diameter 24.9 would have been. The keys on the long joint cannot be removed since the pins on which these keys pivot The bocal is lost and the wing joint is totally rotted are rusted into the integral wooden blocks, so it through about 3.5cm from the top, making the bocal is impossible to inspect the two springs under the receiver separate from the rest of the wing joint.