Fagotto

As Printed on a Score

Fagotto (plural Fagotti) labels the bassoon staff, abbreviated Fag., Fg. or Fgt.; two bassoons usually share one staff with I., II., a 2 or 1. It is written at sounding pitch in bass clef, moving to tenor clef for higher passages and, rarely, to treble clef. Changes to contrabassoon are marked in the bassoon part.

Abbreviations: Fag., Fg., Fgt., Fag, Fagg.

Also spelled: Fagotti

How Composers Use It

From B-flat1 to about E5, the bass of the woodwind choir: dark and full at the bottom, warm and lyrical in the middle, plaintive and strained at the top (the opening of The Rite of Spring). Classical composers double it with cellos or basses, or pair it with horns as a soft sustaining bass. It is agile and good at staccato wit, but its lowest notes are hard to play very softly and are easily covered by brass.

Example

Mozart, Symphony No. 41 in C major (“Jupiter”), K. 551, first movement: the staves read “Fagotto I” and “Fagotto II”, shortened to “Fgt. I” and “Fgt. II” on later systems.