Mezzo-soprano saxophone
| Mezzo-soprano saxophone | |
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| left a mezzo saxophone , right an alto saxophone | |
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Aerophone saxophone |
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The mezzo-soprano saxophone , sometimes also referred to as the F-alto saxophone , is a saxophone in F, i.e. a whole tone above the alto saxophone . In size and sound, it is similar to the Eb alto saxophone, although the upper octave sounds more like a soprano saxophone . There are very few mezzo-soprano saxophones as they were only made by CG Conn from 1928 to 1929 . They weren't very well known and were sold in small quantities as production stopped after Black Thursday as Conn was forced to only produce the more popular instruments. Conn used the unsold mezzo-soprano saxophones for educational purposes. Usually, the instruments were intentionally damaged (e.g. dropped on a concrete floor) and the trainees were commissioned to repair them. This stress ultimately destroyed these saxophones.
The mezzo-soprano saxophone is the only saxophone in F, apart from a few prototypes of F baritone saxophones . Although Maurice Ravel's 1928 orchestral piece Boléro uses a sopranino saxophone in F, it is unlikely that such an instrument ever existed. The Mezzopransaxophon was also in the Sinfonia domestica of Richard Strauss used contains the components for four saxophones including a mezzo-soprano saxophone.
Well-known mezzo-soprano saxophone players include Anthony Braxton , James Carter and Jay Easton .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Conn company history - 1915 - today ( Memento from February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://imslp.org/wiki/Bol%C3%A9ro_%28Ravel,_Maurice%29
Web links
- Jay C. Easton - Saxophone Gallery Pictures and Sound Samples (English)