Basset horn

Basset horn (Fr.: cor de basset; Ger.: Bassetthorn; It.: corno bassetto), 1. elongated clarinet pitched in F (rarely in E♭), originally also in G, probably invented by A. and M. Mayrhofer of Passau, Bavaria, ca. 1770. Made of wood, it has the same bore and mouthpiece as the A and B♭ clarinets. Historically, 3 types have existed: the earliest instrs. were sickle-shaped, like the *cor anglais (from which they probably received the name basset horn), with 2 *basset keys taking the compass down to…