Description

Bassoon – SIMIOT, Jacques François

This beautiful bassoon was made by the famed and innovative Lyon-based maker of woodwind instruments, Monsieur Jacques François SIMIOT (1769-1844). He was particularly renowned for his clarinets and bassoons. This is an early example of a Simiot instrument, made perhaps around 1800.

Jacques François Simiot was born in Dole, France in 1769.  He trained as a turner and woodwind instrument maker and by 1803, had already developed a revolutionary 12-key clarinet. He moved and settled in Lyon in 1808 with his own workshop and even published a table of his innovations and changes made to this instrument. For the bassoon, for example, he added a tuning-slide to the wing joint, substituted the cork butt-plug with a metal U-tube and modified the bell to an oval shape to enhance the volume of the lower notes.  His efforts in the development of the bassoon were acknowledged by the jury at the 1823 Exhibition of Products of French Industry, who awarded him a silver medal. Throughout his lifetime, he remained a formidable creative talent.

If we look at the photos we can see just what amazing figured maple wood he chose for this bassoon. It gleams with a warm and lustrous reddy-brown colour. The seven keys, rings and butt are expertly crafted in brass. The fingerholes are masterfully cut. All parts of this bassoon have its maker’s stamp.

This Simiot bassoon is supplied with its original crook which was shortened together with a crook by Walter BASSETTO. The later crook enables the instrument to play at between a=430 Hz and a=435 Hz.

The bassoon is in working condition as it was previously restored. The lower notes, though, aren’t working quite as well since they still have the original pads on those keys. These pads need to be changed and adjusted. The new owner of this Simiot bassoon will possess a remarkable piece of musical history.