Saxophone: history, video, interesting facts, listen

Musical Instrument: Saxophone

If someone asks a question, which musical instrument do you consider the most sensual? Undoubtedly, in response, you will hear - the saxophone is an instrument for the soul, as many music lovers call it. His passionate and expressive timbre, able to convey tenderness and passion, can carry a person into the most secret memories. No wonder poets in their lyric poems singing and crying saxophone voice is often associated with romantic experiences of heroes. But not only tears and sadness are characteristic of this tool, which has great expressive possibilities. He is very many-sided and can be a serious philosopher in the works of I.S. Bach, gentle and lyrical among romantic composers, impudent and free in jazz. In this genre, the saxophone is king, since it is in fact the voice of the performer with whom he speaks with the audience. It is impossible not to note the improvisational capabilities of the instrument, which made it an unsurpassed leader in jazz art.

The history of the saxophone and many interesting facts about this musical instrument, read on our page.

Sound

Silver, velvet, magic, magic - such beautiful words usually describe the voice of the saxophone. His melodious and juicy timbre enchants with the first notes. The sound of the instrument is easily recognizable.

His expressive possibilities are very great, the saxophone is distinguished not only by melodiousness and melody, but also by its technicality, being one of the most virtuosic in the group of wind instruments, because various performing tasks are possible for him. A smooth legato with glissand sound transitions, a distinct staccato, frullato, large amplitude vibration of sound, and the use of a very high register with flagelet sound is only a small list of techniques used by saxophone players.

Range The instrument, which is more than two octaves, is divided into three registers: low, medium, and high sound. Their choice depends on the nature of the work laid by the composer.

The sound-forming element on the instrument is a cane that the performer makes to oscillate, blowing air into the saxophone. The principle of extracting sound is close to picking on the clarinet, but the saxophone fingering is similar to the oboe fingering.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• The citizens of Belgium are very proud that the person who created the saxophone is their compatriot. In recognition of the great inventor, even before the introduction of a single currency for the eurozone countries, the national bank of the country issued a 200 franc note with the image of Adolf Sachs.
• Sachs' childhood was very dramatic, his mother called him a child, doomed to failure. In two years, he fell from the second floor, strongly hitting a stone. Parents thought that the son will not survive. At the age of three, Adolf poisoned himself with sulfuric acid and swallowed a pin. Then there was a broken leg, measles and three days in a coma, burns from a powder explosion, a broken arm, severe poisoning from spoiled wine and other unpleasant situations.
• The envy of A. Saks' competitors after the invention of the saxophone had no boundaries. To combat it, haters have created a whole community. He was bankrupt three times in 1852, 1873 and 1877. Workers were lured from him, blueprints were stolen, musicians were forbidden to use his tools, robbed of his workshops, slanderous articles were published, and even an attempted murder was organized.
• The monument, as well as the largest museum of A. Sachs, is located in Dinant, the birthplace of the great inventor. Its inhabitants, very proud of their countryman, have chosen the saxophone as the symbol of their city. You can find the logo in the form of a saxophone everywhere: in bars, restaurants, cafes, shops. The name of the inventor is the street, and on the buildings there are figurines depicting a saxophone.

• In 1948 in the USSR, by decree of the VKPb dated February 10, the words jazz and saxophone, as elements of a hostile culture, were banned. This period, which lasted eight years, entered the era of Soviet jazz art, as the time when saxophones were unbending.
• In Germany, in the period of the Third Reich, the saxophone was banned, as an instrument that does not have Aryan origin, that is, ignoble and unworthy.
• Bill Clinton, President of the United States from 1993 to 2001, loves to play the saxophone. Even in his youth, leading a school jazz band, he wanted to become a professional musician. The future head of the White House did not succeed in such dreams, but he played the saxophone at his inauguration in 1993.
• Under the auspices of the World Saxophonist Congresses, constantly held since 1969, contests and festivals are regularly held, special literature is published. And 1995 was marked by the discovery in the French city of Bordeaux of the European saxophone center, which is engaged in the popularization of the instrument, and also collects data about the performers.

• Every year, saxophonists from all over the world come to the homeland of the great Belgian A. Sachs in the Belgian city of Dinant to participate in the saxophone parade. Illuminated by torches and to the sound of instruments, the procession takes place in the evening along the embankment around the city, creating a mystical effect. The event ends with a concert of saxophonists in the central square.
• Monuments to the saxophone and saxophonists can be found in different parts of the world. The largest: 12-meter is located in the homeland of A. Sachs in Belgium in Denau. The sculpture of a saxophonist in bronze, which is a symbol of the Norwegian city of Molde, is affectionately called by the locals “Jazz boy”. Monuments to the saxophone were installed in Latin America, in Japan (Hokkaido Island), in Russia (Rostov-on-Don), in Georgia (Tbilisi), in Thailand (Bangkok), and in California (USA), the instrument builders built a saxophone.
• International competitions for saxophone performers are held all over the world, but the most important one is the competition of saxophonists in Belgium in Denay, in the homeland of A. Sachs. By its significance it can be compared with the competition named after PI. Tchaikovsky. A real and long-awaited triumph for the Russian saxophone was the victory of musician Sergei Kolesov, who won first place and three special prizes.
• The most famous companies that manufacture saxophones are in France (Selmer and Buffet), Japan (Yamaha), Czech Republic (Amati), Germany (BS).
• Saxophonists in their technique for performing long sounds very often use permanent breathing. Initially, the record was set by D. Kenny, who continuously played one note for 45 minutes without stopping. However, his record was broken by D. Escalante, who held the sound twice as long - 1 hour 30 minutes.

Design

A saxophone is an instrument consisting of many parts, which are made separately and then assembled into an instrument. Its body is a tube of conical shape, which on the one hand expands and, depending on the type of instrument, can be wrapped, taking the form of a smoking pipe. On the extended side of the case there is a socket. The other side of the instrument ends with an eskoy, a thin tube connecting the main part of the instrument and the mouthpiece, which is very similar in structure to the clarinet. A special cane, a sound-forming element of the saxophone, is attached to the mouthpiece with the help of a special device - a small lug, called a ligature. Canes are usually made from reeds, which are grown in the south of France, but sometimes synthetic materials are used to make them.

There is a valve mechanism on the body of the saxophone, which has many rather complex interconnected connections, the number of valves in it varies and depends on the type of instrument, sometimes they can be up to 22.

Varieties

Initially, the inventor developed fourteen types of saxophones, but over time, performing practice has shown that only eight are in demand, and four are the most popular: soprano (building-B), alto (building - Es), tenor (building - B) and baritone ( system - Es). These species, which have a beautiful juicy sound, as well as great technical potential, make up a quartet of saxophones and are actively used in various musical genres.

The less used types are: saxophone-sopranissimo (build - B), sopranino (build - Es), bass (build - B) and double bass (build - Es).

In addition to the above varieties of the saxophone is very rare, since they exist in single copies, you can find a piccolo saxophone (soprillo) and a subcontrabass saxophone.

Works:

Claude Debussy - Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra (listen)

A. Eshpay - Piece for saxophone and piano (listen)

Application

The saxophone is currently a very popular instrument with a very extensive scope. He is a full member in brass and pop orchestras. In many modern genres, such as rock, pop, rock and roll, reggae, er and bi, soul, blues, funk saxophone is a very important tool. In symphonic and operatic music saxophone It is also used, but, unfortunately, not so often, that is, the instrument did not receive a permanent registration in the symphony orchestra.

The saxophone with its extraordinary timbre has always attracted the attention of many composers. Initially, French composers such as F. Halevy, D. Meyerbeer, S. Thom, C. Delibes, J. Massenet, C. Saint-Saens, V. d'Andy occasionally entrusted the instrument with a solo melodic character in their operas. We also hear the sound of the saxophone in ballet performances of D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiev and A. Khachaturian. Symphonic works, S. Prokofiev, A. Berg, M. Mussorgsky, A. Onegger, S. Rakhmaninov, J. Bizet are also decorated with the sound of the instrument.

The music library for the saxophone is very rich and diverse - these are transcriptions of the works of great composers of different eras and trends, as well as original works written specifically for the instrument. Among the authors who paid special attention to the instrument, it is worth noting A. Glazunov, L. Larsson, C. Debussy, F. Martin, V. d'Andy, F. Schmit, and J Absil, E. Bozz, H. Badins, A. Kaple, G. Brent, M. Konstan, R. Chevreuil, A. Tomazi, W. Eisenman. Soviet composers A. Eshpay, N. Peiko, V. Artyomov, S. Gubaidulina, E. Denisov also left many wonderful musical compositions for the instrument.

Performers

From the very beginning of its appearance, the saxophone with its unusually beautiful timbre and great potential of expressive and technical capabilities always attracted special attention. Therefore, throughout the entire history of its development, each period has revealed remarkable saxophone virtuosos. And since the saxophone was very actively used in various musical genres, each direction had its own outstanding performers. In the second half of the XIX century, when the instrument only began to appear on the concert stage, music lovers enjoyed the performance of such masters as L. Mayer, J. Soil, J. Murman, A. Vuil and, undoubtedly, the inventor of the saxophone Adolf Sachs, who played great on the tool. A little later, in the last quarter of a century, when the saxophone crossed the Atlantic Ocean, it fascinated Americans with its sound in the person of E. Lefebra, as well as E. Hall, who did a lot to popularize the instrument on the continent.

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the advent of new trends in music, including jazz, the interests of the performers began to divide. The jazz saxophone that dominated the first half of the century was represented by such distinguished names as D. Hodges, L. Young, D. Coltrane, C. Hawkins, S. Rollins and C. Parker.

In the second half of the century, jazz presented the world: D. Coltrane, P. Desmond, O. Coleman, D. Mulligan, B. Marsalis, C. Parker, I. Butman, G. Garanyan, A. Kozlov, D. Goloshchekin, D. Adderley, D. Mulligan, B. Schenk, F. Woods.

The classic saxophone is associated with the names of F. Mondelchi, M. Mühl, S. Rascher, J. Londe, M. Shaposhnikova, L. Mikhailov, G. Bumke, S. Lizon, J. Vries, J. Londeuks.

Story

The beginning of the saxophone history should not be sought in the depths of the centuries, as the instrument is relatively young, and it appeared only in the forties of the last century. The entire origin of the saxophone is closely connected with the biography of his great inventor Adolf Antoine Joseph Sachs, who was born on November 6, 1814 in the small Belgian town of Dinant. Adolf's father was a wonderful master of making musical instruments, so successful that he was able to receive an invitation to the capital of Belgium, Brussels, to be appointed court master, responsible for providing military orchestras with wind instruments.

Musical ability and fascination with the construction of his firstborn Charles Sachs noticed in early childhood. The boy, instead of having fun playing with his peers, loved to spend time in his father’s workshop, watching his work. Already by the age of sixteen, Antoine had mastered the delicate technique of producing parts for wind instruments and, together with his father’s instruments, sent the clarinet and two flutes made by him to the exhibition.

Strong attraction to music and the desire of the young man to learn more deeply the peculiarity of the sound production on the wind instruments lead him to the Brussels Conservatory, where he learns to play the clarinet. At the same time, Antoine does not leave work in the workshop of his father, continuing to engage in the improvement of wind instruments. As a result, he makes his life choice, deciding to become a further musician and inventor, and in 20 years he takes over the management of his father’s workshops. Already at this young age, Antoine is actively working to modernize the clarinet valve system in the “B” system of the German system and to improve the bass clarinet. Somewhat later, he begins the transformation of the soprano clarinet and the Beme system. All the undertakings of the young Saks bring not only rewards and patents, but also experience that helped him in his further research. Being engaged in the modernization of instruments, Antoine arises the idea of ​​creating a new instrument that would have the characteristic features of the sound of wood and brass instruments simultaneously. To translate his idea, Sachs modified the metal body of the off-line under the bass clarinet form, attached the mouthpiece with the cane from the clarinet, and adapted the oboe valve mechanism, thereby connecting the characteristics of wooden and brass instruments.

At first, the instrument did not have a beautiful sound, and it took the master some time to bring it to perfection and then present it at an exhibition in Brussels in 1841. Initially, the instrument was patented under the name "Mouthpiece of Alpha Cleansing".

In 1842, a significant event occurred in the life of a talented Belgian, he met a young but then already popular composer and journalist Hector Berlioz, who, having heard the sound of the new instrument Sachs, was pleasantly impressed. Berlioz, who favored everything innovative in music, writes a laudatory article about the inventor and the new instrument, which he first called the saxophone. As a result of this publication, we learned about the saxophone not only in Europe, but also in Russia. However, the composer did not stop at this; he composed a work in which the party was first written for a new instrument, Choral, and he himself conducted it. After such a premiere of the new instrument and other composers began to use the sound of the saxophone in their works.

At the peak of success, Adolf Sachs decides to settle in Paris, the center of European culture. However, not everyone in the French capital was happy about such an immigrant. In addition to friends, among which are well-known composers G. Berlioz, D. Meyerber, G. Donizetti, D. Rossini, F. Halevy, L. Ober, there were also detractors - local masters who envied the talent of an extraordinary Belgian. Despite the intrigues, Sachs, having opened his own production, is actively working, inventing instruments and fulfilling orders from governments of different countries for the supply of wind instruments for military orchestras. In 1844, he first exhibited the saxophone at the Paris Industrial Exhibition, and then in 1846, he received a patent for the instrument and its varieties. Unfortunately, the saxophone, as the master dreamed, did not receive constant use in a symphony orchestra, but later became a truly "king" of the new direction that had come about, which was called "jazz".

The saxophone is a relatively young musical instrument, since two hundred years have not passed since its origin, but its popularity is such as if it was born before our era. Demanded in many modern genres and styles, relatively easy to learn and possessing great potential for expressive and technical capabilities, he has always attracted the attention of novice musicians. On the saxophone, you can play everything - from simple melodies that sound on radio and television, to performing classical pieces in different styles, as well as the most complex jazz improvisations.