| Greg's bassoon by Savary jeune, 1842 |
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These photos show an instrument that I bought in the early 90s. It is missing a number of keys, which will need to be made up, but otherwise it's in very good condition. I left it for restoration with a repairer who “never got round to it”, and in the meantime I bought two other Savary instruments, so I'm no longer so interested in restoring it, so I am prepared to sell it. At the time I was quoted a sum of DM 1000 (about $700 US) for restoration. I suspect the cost would now be closer to $1000 US.
His bassoons were very popular in England, where they were highly esteemed by many of the principal payers. Indeed, Savary bassoons were passed down from one generation to the next and some were still in use and very reluctantly discarded when orchestral sharp pitch began to be lowered in 1935.
This quote appears to base on a similar text in Anthony Baines' “Woodwind instruments and their history”.
Langwill also states that his instruments bear dates from 1824 to 1842 (on the back of the butt). This is incorrect, though maybe at the time of printing no other ones were known. I have an instrument dated 1847, and I have seen instruments dated as late as 1850.
To my knowledge, only about 100 Savary instruments have survived, so it should be well worth-while restoring this one.
Tenor joint: 2 thumb keys (a and c). c is missing. Once had a crook key (whisper key), which operated on the top of the joint, not the crook (bocal), also missing. Front had 4 keys, (Eb, C#, 2 trill keys), all missing. The mounts for the keys are still present, with the exception of the first trill key and the Eb key.
Butt: 4 keys, all present (Bb, F, Ab, F#). This joint is in near-perfect condition
Bass joint: 5 keys (D, Eb, C#, B, Bb), covered C. C# and Bb are missing.
Bell: Remainder of the Bb key missing.
No crook (bocal).
With the exception of the low C# key and the crook (whisper) key, all the holes with missing keys are blocked up, but could be easily unblocked. As a result, the instrument is playable.
Wood in excellent condition, no cracks. The top of the bass joint is slightly chipped out, but there's no crack.
The photo above shows the blocked-off holes for the C# and Eb keys and the remains of a mount for the lower trill key. I'm not sure what the wood inlay to the right shows. The yellow colour in the third finger hole is wax, presumably for tuning.
The holes for the two trill keys, and the saddle for the upper trill key.
The lower end of the tenor joint. The edge of the tenon is worn, but not cracked.
Another view of the lower end of the tenor joint.
The top end of the bass joint. The tenon has some breakage, but there are no cracks.
The bottom end of the bass joint. The bore is not centred correctly, obviously a manufacturing problem, but the tenon is in impeccable condition.
This is the only clear marking of the manufacturer's name. It's as good as impossible to photograph the date at the top rear of the butt, unfortunately.
These are some older photos, taken in 1998. I don't think they show anything more, but there doesn't seem to be any reason to remove them. There are no larger versions of these photos.
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