Bassoon, C
Distributor
Klemm
Date1825-1830 ca.
Place DistributedPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North America
Place MadeMarkneukirchen, Saxony, Vogtland, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on butt joint and long joint only: KLEMM / PHILADAMarkingsnoneDescriptionDark-stained maple in 4 sections: wing, butt, long, and bell joints. Brass ferrules and keywork. 12 keys with flat, octagonal-shaped covers, mounted in saddles. Leaf key springs attached to keys. The color of the instrument is characteristic for Dresden or Markneukirchen bassoons, and the joints are consistent and belong together even though not all are stamped. Late Grenser-style bassoon, normal size. The highest vent key for left hand thumb key has its touchpiece located in the lowest position for the left hand thumb, which is typical of central European bassoons.
This instrument was probably made in an undetermined Markneukirchen workshop. It was distributed by Klemm of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frederick Augustus Klemm (1797-1876) came to the USA in 1816 and, with his brother John George (1795-1833), both immigrants from Markneukirchen, imported instruments from Germany. The firm supplied large numbers of instruments during the Civil War period, but their dominant position was challenged by the rise of American manufacturers afterwards.
DimensionsOverall height: 1268 mm
Wing joint: 456 mm
Butt joint: 414 mm
Long joint: 499 mm
Bell: 355 mm
(excluding tenons)
ProvenanceThis instrument was previously owned by Cecil B. Leeson (1902-1989), a pioneer American saxophonist who had more than fifty works written for him. In 1977, Leeson donated his collection to Ball State University, where he had been a member of the music department faculty. He was an advocate of the saxophone as an instrument capable of the highest degree of artistic expression, as well as one of the first musicologists and pedagogues of the instrument. He was a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, and others, as well as the first saxophonist to give a Town Hall recital in New York.
The Cecil B. Leeson Collection was transferred from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, to the NMM in May 1994, with the concurrence of Cecil Leeson's son, Tom.
Credit LineTransfer from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, 1994
Object number05732
On View
Not on view
