Four-key bassoon after JC Denner (1655-1707) by Mathew Dart.
The original of this instrument has three keys but the fourth key (g-sharp) added to this copy is not out of keeping with the period. Having said that, I play this instrument as a three-key bassoon for seventeenth century repertoire by removing the g-sharp key and plugging the hole with beeswax.
The original of this bassoon is in the instrument museum at the Royal Conservatorium in Brussels. It is unlike other extant bassoons stamped ‘JC Denner’ in several ways. I have often wondered why this is. Perhaps it was made by one of the younger makers in the Denner workshop using the JC Denner stamp or perhaps it could be a fake! Fakes are not unknown in historical instrument collections. Hopefully somebody will investigate this more fully in the future.
You can hear me playing this instrument here.