Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore. However, the basset horn is larger and has a bend or a kink between the mouthpiece and the upper joint, and while the clarinet is typically a transposing instrument in B or A, the basset horn is typically in F. Finally, the basset horn has additional keys for an extended range down to written C, which sounds F at the bottom of the bass staff. Its timbre is similar to the clarinet's, but darker. Basset horns in A, G, E, E, and D were also made; the first of these is closely related to the basset clarinet. The basset horn is not related to the horn, or other members of the brasswind family ; it does, however, bear a distant relationship to the hornpipe and cor anglais. Its name probably derives from the resemblance of early, curved versions to the horn of some animal. Some of the earliest basset horns, which are believed to date from the 1760s, bear an inscription "ANT et MICH MAYRHOFER INVEN. & ELABOR. PASSAVII", which has been interpreted to mean they were made by Anton and Michael Mayrhofer of Passau. Modern basset horns can be divided into three basic types, distinguished primarily by bore size and, consequently, the mouthpieces with which they are played:
The small-bore basset horn has a bore diameter in the range of . It is played with a B/A clarinet mouthpiece. Only the Selmer Company and Stephen Fox currently make this model.
The medium-bore basset horn has a bore diameter in the region of or slightly less. This is the most common type made by German-system manufacturers. Since no French-style mouthpiece with an appropriate bore is mass-produced, this model requires a matching German basset-horn mouthpiece. Stephen Fox currently makes this model also.
The large-bore basset horn, with a bore diameter of about and played with an alto-clarinet mouthpiece, is in constructional terms an alto clarinet pitched in F and with the extra basset notes. The Leblanc basset horns are of this type.
The current Buffet basset horn could be called a hybrid "medium-large bore" model, since it uses an alto-clarinet mouthpiece but has a bore diameter around.
Repertoire
A number of composers of the classical period wrote for the basset horn, and the famous 18th-century clarinettist Anton Stadler, as well as his younger brotherJohann, played it. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was by far the most notable composer for the basset horn, including three basset horns in the Maurerische Trauermusik, K. 477, and two in both the Gran Partita, K. 361, and the Requiem, K. 626, and several of his operas, such as Die Entführung aus dem Serail, La Clemenza di Tito which features Vitellia's great aria "Non più di fiori" with basset-horn obbligato, and Die Zauberflöte, where they prominently accompany the March of the Priests, as well as chamber works. He wrote dozens of pieces for basset horn ensembles. The Clarinet Quintet in A major has also been performed on basset horn by Teddy Ezra with other members of the Else Ensemble. Other early works for basset horn include a concerto for basset horn in G and small orchestra by Carl Stamitz, which has been arranged for conventional basset horn in F, and a concerto in F by Heinrich Backofen. In the 19th century Felix Mendelssohn wrote two pieces for basset horn, clarinet, and piano. These were later scored for string orchestra. Franz Danzi wrote a Sonata in F, for basset horn and piano, Op. 62 Antonín Dvořák attempted a half-hearted revival, using the instrument in his Czech Suite, in which he specifies that an English horn may be used instead, but the instrument was largely abandoned until Richard Strauss took it up once more in his operas Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Daphne, Die Liebe der Danae, and Capriccio, and several later works, including two wind sonatinas. Franz Schreker also employed the instrument in a few works including the operas Die Gezeichneten and Irrelohe. Roger Sessions included a basset horn in the orchestra of his Violin Concerto, where it opens the slow movement in a lengthy duet with the solo violin. In the last quarter of the 20th century and first decade of the 21st, Karlheinz Stockhausen wrote extensively for basset horn, giving it a prominent place in his cycle of operas Licht and other pieces.
Other works
"Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind" for solo clarinetist and string quartet by Osvaldo Golijov; later arranged for solo clarinetist and string orchestra.
Serenade on Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon for basset horn and two guitars, op. 28, written by Heinrich Neumann.
Etudes for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 39 by Peter Schat calls for 3 basset horns in the orchestra.
The Lotz Trio performs on replicas of basset horns made originally by 18th-century instrument makerTheodor Lotz from Pressburg and Vienna. The ensemble endeavours to follow up with popular wind harmonias from the 18th century. The repertory of the Lotz Trio ensemble is formed by original music called by the German name Harmoniemusik. It is presented predominantly by Mozart’s music, but the ensemble also performs music by other central-European composers – Georg Druschetzky, Martín I Soler, Anton Stadler, Vojtech Nudera, Johann Josef Rösler and Anton Wolanek. The Prague Trio of Basset-horns, based in the Czech Republic, has a repertoire of music originally written for, or transcribed for, three basset horns by composers including Mozart, Scott Joplin, and Paul Desmond. Suzanne Stephens is a leading basset-horn specialist in contemporary music. Starting in 1974, the German Karlheinz Stockhausen composed many new works for her, including a large number for basset horn.
