The bass oboe, also called the baritone oboe, is a double reed instrument in the woodwind family. It is about twice as large as the soprano oboe in C and produces a sound one octave lower. Its deep, rich tone is somewhat similar to the cor anglais (English horn). The bass oboe is written in treble clef but sounds one octave lower than the notes written. Its lowest note is B2 (in scientific pitch notation), which is one octave and a semitone below middle C. A special key can be added between the lower part of the instrument and its bell to play a low B♭2. The instrument’s bocal (crook) first curves away from the player and then back toward them, resembling a flattened metal question mark. Another crook design looks like the neck of a bass clarinet. The bass oboe uses a double reed that is similar to but larger than the reed used in the cor anglais.

Etymology

The instrument is commonly called the "bass oboe" in English and "hautbois baryton" (meaning "baritone oboe") in French. The term "bass" is used because it is similar to the "bass flute" in the flute family and the "bass clarinet" in the clarinet family. These instruments are each tuned one octave lower than the main instrument in their respective families.

History

Early bass oboes were designed like bassoons, with a boot-shaped joint and a bocal (as seen in Triébert's instruments, which still had a bell shaped like a bulb) and some holes drilled at an angle. Later, a larger version of the cor anglais was used instead. The idea of the bass oboe as a larger cor anglais remained, and the hautbois baryton, redesigned by François Lorée, was introduced in 1889.

Some confusion exists between the bass oboe and the Heckelphone, a double reed instrument with a similar sound range created by Wilhelm Heckel's company in 1904. The Heckelphone differs from standard oboes by having a larger inside diameter, a different way the keys are played (on older models), and a bigger bell. Because of these differences, it is sometimes unclear in early 20th-century English orchestral music which instrument a composer meant when writing for a "bass oboe."

The instrument has been made occasionally by companies such as F. Lorée, Marigaux, Rigoutat, Fossati, and others. It is usually made only by special request and typically costs more than the most expensive cor anglais.

Repertoire

• In the Great Museum of our Memory – for bass oboe by Brian Cherney
• The East Coast – concerto for bass oboe and orchestra by Gavin Bryars
• Earth Spirit – for bass oboe and orchestra by Yuang Chen
• The Sacrifice of Prometheus – for bass oboe and orchestra by Marko Bajzer

The bass oboe is used in Gustav Holst’s The Planets. It plays unique sounds that no other instrument can make. In "Mars," the bass oboe has quiet parts. In "Mercury," woodwinds play fast, unusual notes. In "Saturn," the bass oboe has clear, solo lines, which is one of the best examples in the piece. In "Uranus," the bass oboe plays a short solo after the opening notes. The bass oboe also appears in the first interlude of Michael Tippett’s Triple Concerto. It has a long solo in the second movement of Thomas Adès’s Asyla. Frederick Delius used the bass oboe in six works, but recent research suggests he actually meant the heckelphone. Arnold Bax included the bass oboe in his Symphony No. 1. Havergal Brian required the bass oboe in The Gothic Symphony and Symphony No. 4, Das Siegeslied. Humphrey Searle included the instrument in his Third Symphony (1960). Percy Grainger used the bass oboe in Children’s March and The Warriors, where it has a long solo in the middle of the piece. The most famous bass oboe parts are in The Warriors and "Saturn" from The Planets.

Few solo concertos for the bass oboe exist. One example is The East Coast by Gavin Bryars, written in 1994 for Lawrence Cherney, who uses a bass oboe made by F. Lorée. Another is a 2016 concerto by Christopher Tyler Nickel. Two concertos include the bass oboe with other oboe family members: David Stock’s Oborama (bass oboe in the fourth movement, "Dark and Solemn") and James Stephenson’s Rituals and Dances, both for Alex Klein. Marko Bajzer recently wrote The Sacrifice of Prometheus for bass oboe and orchestra, which premiered with the Reno Philharmonic.

British oboist Michael Sluman has commissioned about 60 works for the bass oboe. Many have been performed in the UK, at the 2016 Australian Double Reed Society in Sydney, and the 2018 International Double Reed Society Conference in Granada. These works include solos, orchestral pieces, chamber music, and quartets for oboe, oboe d’amore, cor anglais, and bass oboe, written for the Asyla Oboe Quartet. Sluman has given lectures about the bass oboe at the Royal Academy of Music, London, King’s College London, the University of North Texas, and the Royal Northern College of Music.

Robert Moran’s Survivor from Darmstadt, for nine amplified bass oboes, was commissioned by oboist Nora Post and premiered in 1984. At least one sonata for bass oboe and piano, by Simon Zaleski, has been written.