Bassoon
A member of the oboe family, the bassoon has similarly descended from the medieval shawm though in this case from thre gros-bois rather than the hautbois.It was the largest shawms, the curtal and the bombard, that were the predecessors of the bassoon as, in a way, was the racket.
The amount of sounding length needed to produce the required depth of bass in a bassoon would be impossible to mange if it were not doubled back upon itself. This simple solution to overcome the problem of unmanageable bulk has led to the bassoon being known as the faggot since its appearance resembles that of two pieces of wood tied together.
As with its close relative, the oboe, it is a double reed instrument. In similar fashion to the cor Anglais, the reed is set at the end of a curved tube facilitating the player's ability to reach it with ease.
Within the orchestra, the bassoon serves the same function within the woodwind family as does the cello in the string family. The part of the double bass is mirrored by the contrabassoon.
Bassoons first appeared separate from the curtal and bombard during the seventeenth century but the contrabassoon did not appear until the eighteenth century. Unlike all the other woodwind instruments the contrabassoon has never been standardised.