The ''contraforte'' () is a proprietary instrument with a range similar to the
contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The Reed (mouthpie ...
produced by
Benedikt Eppelsheim and
Guntram Wolf
Guntram Wolf (25 March 1935, Kronach – 4 February 2013, Kronach) was a maker of modern and historical woodwind instruments in Kronach, Germany.
His productions
He specialized in the modern Bassoon#Heckel (German) system, Heckel (German) system b ...
. It is intended to have improved dynamics and intonation over the distinctive but sometimes reticent sound of the conventional contrabassoon. The contraforte uses a different and wider bore than the contrabassoon to produce a distinct tone; the sound is more even in strength and intonation across registers, remaining quite strong into the high register, unlike a contrabassoon. Also, it lacks the distinct "rattle" of a contrabassoon, although an appropriate reed design can replicate this effect where desired.
Wolf and Eppelsheim developed an accurate bore taper and precise key works in order to simplify fingerings despite the instrument's large size.
In October 2010, Lewis Lipnick, contrabassoonist for the
National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The NSO regularly ...
in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, played it in a performance of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's
Symphony No. 9. According to Lipnick, the other members of the
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
, who used to make jokes about the sound of his old contrabassoon, praised the sound of the contraforte. As the soloist of the
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in February 2012, Lipnick also performed
Kalevi Aho's extensive Contrabassoon Concerto on the contraforte, and as a solo instrument, it proved to be superior to the traditional contrabassoon, because of its very wide
dynamic range, clear and focused intonation. In September 2021,
Georg Friedrich Haas'
concertante symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...
for
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
, contraforte and orchestra was premiered during the annual
Beethovenfest
The Beethovenfest ('Beethoven Festival') is a festival of classical music in Bonn, Germany, dedicated mostly to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born there. It dates back to 1845, when the composer's 75th anniversary of birth was celebra ...
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
. The part of the contraforte was played by Lorelei Dowling, a member of
Klangforum Wien, who is conducting her artistic research at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz on the question, "How can the contraforte be exploited in the color palette of the 21st century ensemble writing".
Description
(German) of Dowling's research project. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
Technical specifications
The contraforte has many technical aspects that have not been associated with instruments like the bassoon and contrabassoon.
*The contraforte has a written range from A1 to G5 (in scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical Pitch (music), pitch by combining a musical Note (music), note name (with accidental ( ...
), which sounds as A0 to G4.
*Large tone holes allow for a free response and a very large dynamical range.
*The pivot screws lie in synthetic sleeves for silent key actions, and push rods make for easy key action with low friction.
*The half-hole mechanism provides a clean, silent octave for F3 and G3. There are also well-built automatic octave keys from notes A3 to F4.
References
External links
Contraforte page
on Benedikt Eppelsheim's web site, includes recordings.
Contraforte page
on Guntram Wolf's web site. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
David Angus
member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, presents the contraforte. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
Images
Contraforte
pictured with a B flat Tubax
{{Double reed
Double-reed instruments
Contrabass instruments