INDEX

INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................3
XIX CENTURY.................................................................................................................3
musical situation.............................................................................................................3
Adolphe Sax...................................................................................................................5
Postromanticism.............................................................................................................7
Impressionism...............................................................................................................11
Legend Op. 66 by Florent Schmitt............................................................................13
(alto saxophone and orchestra).................................................................................13
TWENTIETH CENTURY...............................................................................................15
musical situation...........................................................................................................15
Neoclassicism...............................................................................................................17
Avant-garde or Contemporary Music...........................................................................23
Timbre changes.........................................................................................................27
Attacks......................................................................................................................27
Other techniques....................................................................................................27
Tree Pezzi by Giacinto Scelsi...................................................................................28
(soprano saxophone solo).........................................................................................28
Chant Premier by M. Mihalovici..............................................................................37
(tenor saxophone and piano).....................................................................................37
XXI CENTURY...............................................................................................................44
Electroacoustic Music..................................................................................................44
Marie Bernadette.......................................................................................................46
Daniel Kientzy..........................................................................................................47
Josetxo Silguero........................................................................................................49
“Solo” by Guillermo Lauzurica................................................................................51
(baritone saxophone and electroacoustic device).....................................................51
CD TRACKS...................................................................................................................52
POSTROMANTICISM................................................................................................52
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................54
Books............................................................................................................................54
Websites....................................................................................................................54

Juan Carlos Lora Pérez A/A/D Course 2006/07

Three Centuries of Saxophone Juan Carlos Lora Pérez A/A/D Course 2006/07
 INTRODUCTION

From the moment Adolphe Sax invented the Saxophone until today, this
instrument has traveled through three different centuries. In this work I do not
deal with the history of the Saxophone itself, but rather I take a look at the
different European musical styles that have influenced music and, above all, in
the works that different composers have done for this instrument. I also include
some samples of different selected works that have been composed for the
instrument on an attached CD, indicating in the work the track that is found.
The audition repertoire is chosen from the different styles of its history, in
addition to using different instruments from the family:

Alto saxophone and piano – Légende Op.66 by Florent Schmitt (1918). This
work does not belong to the 19th century, but stylistically it can be related
to this era, since it belongs to Impressionism, in addition to being one of
the most important works in the 20th century concert repertoire.
Soprano saxophone solo – Tree Piezzi by Scelsi (1961). In this work, we are in
the middle of the 20th century and we are introduced to a new
contemporary style for saxophone.
Tenor Saxophone and Piano – Chant Premier by M. Mihalovici (1973). We are
already at the end of the 20th century and it is the most important work of
tonal music for tenor saxophone written by a classical composer.
Baritone Saxophone and ribbon – Solo by Guillermo Lauzurica (1998). Although
this work was composed in the 20th century, it is from the style of
electroacoustic music that continues to be developed in the 21st century.

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 XIX CENTURY

musical situation

Starting from the first works of Beethoven and Schubert (early 19th century), in
which they began to distance themselves from the previous Classicism, towards
an expression of feelings until reaching the most romantic period with
composers such as Mendelsshon, Chopin, Schuman and Berlioz. In this period
that lasted until the middle of the 19th century, there were two romantic currents:

• One, more classical, formalist, continuation of Beethoven's symphonic

work, represented, for example, by Mendelsshon's symphonies and
which will have even more strength in the work of Brahms, in the second
half of the century.

• Another, more programmatic and literary, which, starting from Hector

Berlioz's “Symphony”, tries to make more descriptive music, from a literary point
of view. This will be more radical in the second half of the century, especially
with Wagner's concept of “total art” in his time. These two tendencies will be
related in the work of Malher, who, together with Richard Strauss, will be the
main representatives of Post-Romanticism, a musical current of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, consisting of an exacerbated and decadent
romanticism, based on creation of true sound worlds, with all the technical
means available (giant works, in terms of number of performers and duration).
This will be taken to the extreme by Shöenberg in Expressionism. All this
romantic and post-romantic music was characterized by the intense character of
musical expression and the acceptance of new progress on the harmonic,
timbral and melodic level.
The opera also deserves attention, since it was where the saxophone had one
of the first incursions. There were three different focuses:

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 • France . The Grand Opera stood out, very grandiloquent, whose
importance was more in the spectacle than in the music itself, some
examples are “The Huguenots” by Meyerbeer or “The Jew” by Halevy.
There was also the Opera Comique , of less pretensions and represented
by J. Offenbach.1 . A mixture of the two operas was the Lyric Opera ,
performed by Ambroise Thomas, Gounod, Saint-Saens and Bizet.

• Italy . Rossini, Bellini, Donizzetti stood out in the first half of the century,
and Verdi in the second half.

• Germany . German opera was represented mainly by the work of

Wagner.

Adolphe Sax

Obviously we could not begin to talk about the

styles that influenced the history of the saxophone
without starting with its creator Adolphe Sax.
Adolphe was born in Belgium in a city called
Dinant, his entire family lived there several
generations ago, his father Charles Joseph Sax
was an Architect, but later he entered a
cabinetmaking workshop in Brussels. He had a
love for music and played the serpentón,2 But since
he did not like playing with a new instrument, he decided to build one with his
own hands, taking references from some already manufactured. From there,
that hobby became his profession.

1 Jacques Offenbach, born in Cologne (Germany) on June 20, 1819 and died in Paris on October 5, 1880).
German composer and cellist, nationalized French, creator of the modern operetta. He was one of the most
influential composers of European popular music of the 19th century.
2 Musical instrument made of wood and covered with leather, its name is due to its shape, similar to a
snake. Built in Bb, its power served to reinforce the lowest instruments.
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On November 6, 1814, Charles's son, Antonie Joseph Sax, better known as
Adolphe Sax, was born in Dinant. Having a father who was an instrument
inventor, the son followed the same career as his father from a young age, even
building his own toys for himself. himself, at only 11 years old, according to
François-Josep Féti s3 in his Biographie universelle des musiciens ... “he was
capable of turning the parts for a clarinet, molding keys, casting them, polishing
them and adjusting them.” His father
focused on the education of Adolphe and
his brothers, possibly, Adolphe studied at
the Conservatory created in February
1832, although he does not appear on the
lists of students but three of his brothers,
singing, music theory with Borremans and
flute with Labor , later harmony with
Reusler and clarinet with V.Bender
(1801/73), becoming a virtuoso of this
instrument. This will lead him to try to
correct his imperfections, bringing a 24-
key clarinet to the Brussels exhibition in
September-October 1835. Fétis states
that Adolphe obtains an honorable
Adolphe Sax and his
family mention for this instrument but it does not
appear on the official list of awards, although he does receive the admiration
and congratulations of the jury, drawing the attention of Fauré, Grassin-
Dumoulin, Valerius, Bender and Servais being the first who noticed the genius of
Adolphe Sax.
On July 1, 1838, he registered his first patent for a new bass clarinet system.
This would lead him to a process of perfecting the clarinet, seeking the idea of
an instrument that would combine the strength of brass instruments and the
softness of woods. . Thus little by little he experimented until he obtained a new
copper instrument, with a conical tube and the same vibration principle as
clarinets, that is, a simple reed, calling it the Saxophone. The exact date of its

3 Great musicologist and composer, professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Paris Conservatory.
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invention is not known, although according to Adolphe's father, it was invented
at the end of 1838 but was not completely finished.

Drawing of the original patent for the saxophone (03-20-1846)

Postromanticism

One aspect of the moment of appearance of the saxophone was its invention at
the height of Romanticism (mid-19th century) and another important aspect was
that after emerging in Belgium, it quickly began to be manufactured and spread
throughout France, hence the majority of the works composed in his early years
by French composers.
The music that was created for the saxophone began from the presentations
that Adolphe Sax himself gave, such as in 1841 at the Belgian industry
exhibition in Brussels, which was the first time he played a prototype bass
saxophone in C. before the public, also in 1842 the Paris Conservatory
promoted him, in front of Messrs. Louis Auber, Édouard Monnais, Dorus,
Fromental, Halevy.4
From these presentations, people began to talk about this new instrument and
its possibilities. A very clear example is Rossini, who at the beginning of 1844
heard the saxophone in Paris and made the following comment to his friend
Troupenas: “You arrive in the Just the right moment to hear the richest and most
perfect of wind instruments. The saxophone has the most beautiful sound I

4
4
4
Future professor and later political father of Georges Bizet.
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know.”5 More specifically, in the Herz hall in Paris on February 3, 1844, it was
the first saxophone concert by Adolphe Sax with a Bass saxophone in C, Héctor
Berlioz, a great admirer and friend of sax, arranged his Hymne Sacrè for a
sextet of wind instruments6 , all of them invented by Adolphe, although the first
patent for the saxophone dates back to March 21, 1846.
During the period that followed these presentations the saxophone was
introduced into military bands (at that time they were suffering from
abandonment and decline), and thanks to two projects presented by Michael
Caraffa7 (defended the old instrumentation) and Adolphe Sax (innovative
instrumentation including the saxophone) overcoming Sax's, the saxophone was
officially incorporated, according to a ministerial resolution of August 19, 1845,
to the military music of France.
After examinations held on October 30, 1846, Jean François Barthéthemy
Cokken (1801-1875), was appointed as a saxophone teacher, he was the first
saxophone teacher in history and published in 1846, a method “Methodè
complète pour saxophone applicable to all saxophones of different tons.” At the
end of the academic year the students (military) held a contest with their
respective prizes.
Throughout this first period in the history of the saxophone, the main works that
were written for the instrument were about Competition solos, most of them
composed by:

J.B. Single it8

• “Fantasie sur La Somnambule” Op.49, 1858.

• “Fantasie sur un theme Suise” Op.51, 1858.
• “Duo concertant” Op.50, 1858.
• “Concerto No. 2”, 1858.
• “Premier quatour” Op.53 (S,A,T,Bj), 1857.

5 Ibid., p.47.
6 6 Eb cylinder trumpet, Eb small cylinder bugle, Bb large cylinder bugle, soprano clarinet, bass clarinet, C
6

bass saxophone.
7 Director of the Military Gymnasie.
8 Jean Baptiste Singeleé (1812-1875) Violinist and composer born in Brussels.
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 • “Fantasie pour saxophone” Op.54, 1858.
• “Concert Duo for Soprano and Alto” Op.55, 1858.
• “Fantasie Pastorale” Op.56, 1858.
• “Concerto pour soprano or tenor” Op.57, 1858.
• “Fantasie pour baritone saxophone” Op.60, 1858.
• “Adagio et rondeau” Op.63, 1859. For tenor saxophone.
• “Souvenir de la Savoir fantasie pour Saxophone Bb” Op.73, 1860.
• “Concert solo for alto saxophone” Op.74, 1860.
• “Brilliant fantasy for saxophone Eb” Op.75, 1860.
• “Concertino pour saxophone alto” Op.76, 1861.
• “Concert solo for Baritone saxophone” Op.77, 1861. ( Track 19 )
• “Gran quatour concertant” (S,A,T,B) Op.78, 1862.
• “Caprice for soprano saxophone” Op.80, 1862.
• “3rd Solo de concert for baritone saxophone” Op.83, 1862.
• “4th Concert Solo for Tenor saxophone” Op.84, 1862.
• “Fantasie pour saxophone soprano” Op.89, 1863.
• “5th Solo de concert for alto saxophone” Op.91, 1863.
• “6th Solo de concert for tenor saxophone” Op.92, 1863.
• “7th Solo de concert for baritone saxophone” Op.93, 1863.
• “Fantasie pour saxophone soprano” Op.102, 1864.
• “Adagio et rondó for tenor saxophone”, 1866.

J. Demersseman10

• “Fantasie sur an original theme”, 1860. ( Track 2 )

• “Fantasie pour saxophone Eb” Op.32, 1862.
• “Serenade pour le saxophone” Op.33, 1862.
• “1st Solo for soprano saxophone”, 1863.
• “1st Solo for baritone saxophone”, 1865.
• “Premier solo allegro et concert Eb”, 1865.
• “Premier solo andante et bolero for tenor saxophone”, 1866.

9 Indicator of the track of the attached CD, where the works are in audio format.
10 Jule Aguste Edgard Demersseman (1833-1866). Of Belgian origin, he was a professor of flute and
Composition at the CNSM in Paris. He studied at said conservatory with Jean Louis Tolou. He also
published 12 Etudes mélodiques et Brilliants for saxophone.
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 • “1st Solo for alto saxophone”, 1866.
• “Deuxime solo cavatine for baritone saxophone”, 1866. ( Track 3 )
• “Deuxime solo pour saxophone soprano”, 1867.

Other composers who created works for the new instrument were Jean-Nicolas
Safari (1786-1853), Adolphe-Valenti Sellenick (1826-1893), Ali Ben Soualle
(1844-18??), Charles-Joseph Colin (1832-1891) , Leon Chik (1819 1916), Jules
Cressonnois(1823-1891), Emile Jonas (1827-1905), Leon Kreutzer (1817-1868),
Armand Limmander (1818-1892), Victor Sambin (1834-1896), Louis Mayeu r11
(1837-1894), Jean-Baptiste Victor Mohr (1823-1891), Escudier (1816-1881),
Joseph Arban (1825-1889), Pierre Bouillon (18??-1883), Napoleon Coste (1806-
1883), Blancheteau, Borrel, Vitor Buot, Alphonse-Louis Coulevrier (1848-1917),
Emile Durand (1830-1903), León-Pierre Fontbone (1858-1940), Llouis Ganne
(1862-1923), Grimal, George Kastner (1810- 1867), Félix Lignet, Jules
Muldermans, Gabriel Pares (1860-1934), Emile Pessard (1843-1917),
Pillevestre (1837-1903), Joseph-Pierre Saban (1817-1893), Pierre Sagnard
(1829-1901) and Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896 among others.
Apart from all this chamber music that was created in this first stage of
saxophone compositions, what could be seen were mainly parts within works for
orchestra, a clear example is with the composer Georges Kastner (1810-1867),
being the first to introduce the saxophone into the orchestra.
Throughout this century the saxophone was used in opera, on December 1,
1844, in a concert at the Paris Conservatory, Le Dernier Roi by Jude was
performed.12 by G. Kastner, where a bass saxophone in C intervenes. Wagner
also incorporated it in the performances of the Tanhauser (work composed in
1845) at the Paris Opera, when he could not find the required number of horns
in the score .13 , in this work you can see one of the great sources of romantic
inspiration: “The epic and the chivalric.” On April 23, 1852, Havely's Le Juif
Errant premiered at the Paris Opera, the composer included a saxophone
quartet in the score.

11 L.Mayeur performed the 1st Suite of L'Arlesienne by George Bizet as a saxophone soloist, generating
great expectations and favorable reviews that described him as one of the most appreciated saxophone
masters of his time.
12 Biblical opera in two acts.
13 Richard Wagner. My life. Barcelona, Turner, P.374.
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Another way of introducing the saxophone into the orchestra was by doubling
other instruments, as for example in the two festival Overtures , where Kastner
put two bass saxophones doubling the cellos.
One of the most characteristic works of the use of the saxophone in the
orchestra was the use of it by George Bizet (1838-1875) in his stage music for
Adolphe Daudet's drama “ L'Arlesienne ” (1872). Bizet introduced the alto
saxophone, in the work that includes one of the features that characterizes the
romantic period; “exoticism”, also exemplified in his opera “ Carmen ”. Later he
also used it in two Symphonic Suites , its success contributing to familiarizing
the public with this new instrument, giving the image of a cantabile and
expressive instrument.
Another composer of this period who also used the saxophone was Jules
Massenet, whose music is characterized by its intelligent eclecticism, which
reflects the ease in handling classical forms and post-romanticism's taste for
feeling. His operas are composed of delicate, sensual and sentimental melodies.
This is seen in his opera “ Werther ” (1892), using the alto saxophone at the
same level as the other instruments.
Giacomo Puccini, the representative of Italian Verismo, used the alto saxophone
to maintain a chorus of female voices in his opera “ Turandot ” (1926). A
curiosity is that the choir is off stage, so far from the orchestra pit that the
singers cannot hear the accompaniments, the saxophone is mixed in such a
way that the listener does not appreciate it, here Puccini used it because of its
similarity to to the human voice.
Vincent D'Indy also incorporated a saxophone quartet to better support and
balance the tuning of the voices in his music for the Fesvaal scene (1888-1895).
Impressionism

At the end of the Franco-Prussian War, there was a reaction in France against
everything German, this reaction is known as Ars Gallica.14 .
Musically, people continue to compose in the line of German romanticism, like
Cesar Frank or Vincent D'Indy, but the important thing is that other composers

14
In repression by the great push of Germanic instrumental music and Italian opera, France turns against
what is German and in favor of what is exclusively French.
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began another French musical renaissance, with a conception of music as a
sound form and not an expression of the romantic conception. . A lyrical music,
dancing rather than epic or dramatic, reserved rather than grandiloquent. Within
the Ars Gallica current, there were two proposals:

• A more conservative one, characterized by good taste, sonorous

exquisiteness and the elegance that had already been defined in French
music during the Baroque. Its main representative was Gabriel Fauré.

• Another more radical one, its greatest representation was in Claude

Debussy, this type was called Impressionist music.

The Impressionist type of music was characterized by having the tendency to

create atmospheres and sensory impressions, through harmonies and timbres,
creating special effects of unstable sound luminosity. To achieve this, new
elements were used such as ancient modes or exotic scales such as pentatonic
and whole tone scales, to achieve new or at least different sounds.
Harmonically we cannot speak of counterpoint, polyphony or homophony, but
rather of superimposed sound planes in different tonalities. Regarding the
melody, it is much more fragmented than the romantic one, they are small
phrases that are repeated, apart from the rhythmic impulse of the melodies quite
diluted. Timbrally, this current revolutionizes the conception of orchestral color.
Although the works I name below belong to the 20th century, aesthetically they
belong to Impressionism. A large part of these works were written at the request
of saxophonist Elise Hall, a saxophonist who felt very linked to the French
language and artistic values when she was born there. An example is Claude
Debussy's “ Rhapsody ” (1903) for orchestra and alto saxophone, a work that he
did not finish, but at Elise's insistence, Debussy only sent her three or four
handwritten lines with the name “ Mauresquee Rhapsody .” In 1911, later, a
student of his named Roger Ducasse, completed and orchestrated the work,
giving it the title “ Rhapsody ” (1918). Other impressionist musicians who wrote
works for saxophone were André Caplet, with his “ Légende ” for alto saxophone
and orchestra (1903), Vincent D'Indy, with his Choral varié Op.55 ( Track 4 )
and Florent Schmitt with his “ Légende Op. 66 ” ( Track 5 ), which the composer
later transcribed for viola or violin and piano.
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 Legend Op. 66 by Florent Schmitt

(alto saxophone and orchestra)

Florent Schmitt wrote this work in 1918 dedicated to the American saxophonist
Elise Beber Hall . Elise, born in Paris on April 15, 1853, wife of an important
New York surgeon, Doctor Richard John Hall, at the age of 40 contracted
typhoid fever during a trip to California. Once she recovered
from the illness, she would have serious hearing problems, so
her husband advised her to practice with a wind instrument.
Having moved to the city of Santa Barbara, she found a
person who played a rare instrument, the saxophone, and
decided to learn. to touch it. It was after the death of her
husband in 1897 that she devoted herself to the study of the
instrument and later, settled in Boston, she created the
Boston Orchestral Club, an orchestra of amateur musicians,
reinforced by teachers from the symphony orchestra. from the
city. One of them was George Longy, with whom he
established a special relationship and advised him on composers who could
write for his instrument. Elise commissioned a total of 22 scores between 1900
and 1918. His first commission was Divertissement Espagnol by Charles Martin
Loeffer (1861 1935), which she performed on January 29, 1901, at the age of
48. From there, composers such as Jean Hure (1877-1930), Claude Debussy
(1862-1918), Vincent Díndy (1851-1931), Henry Woolett (1964-1941), Paul
Wilson (1853-1942), Gabriel Gaubert joined in. (1879-1941), Paul Wilson (1853
1942), Gabriela Grovlez (1879-1941), León Moreau (1870-1943), Jules Mouquet
(1867-1946), Georges Sporck (1870-1943), and Florent Schmitt (1870 1958).

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Florent Schmitt was an independent
composer who rejected the idea of form
in the abstract, where ideas must more or
less fit into a kind of pre-established
framework. His romanticism was
tempered by a skeptical, caustic spirit
and a clarity of thought and vision. He
also demonstrated classical tendencies
and in particular was not concerned with
the complacency of anyone but himself.
He sought objectivity, worked clearly and directly to express his ideas, seeking
perfection in simplicity. Schmitt liked nature, the sound of water, mountains,
streams, and the sea. His personality was marked by a preference for order,
precision, sincerity, and truth.
As was the case with Berlioz, Schmitt was more attracted to color than hue, this
work is written in the middle of two of the composer's great masterpieces, “The
Tragedy of Salome”, Op.50 (1907-1910) and “ Antoine and Cleopatra”, Op.69
(1919-1920). As in both works, the orchestration of the Legenda is sonorous and
voluptuous. His harmonic language shines, his rhythm is balanced and the work
is totally spiritual. Pierre-Octave Ferroud 15 He said, “The soloist uses all these
charms and transports emotions, desire and passionate love.
Like Gustave Flaubert, with whom he had many things in common, Florent
Schmitt, was fascinated by the Orient.16 , not so much because of its exoticism
but because of the sense of freedom that he felt during his trips there.
The Légende is, in some ways, a simple movement of a symphony with a
soloist. It is characterized by seeking an atmosphere, where no one stands out
Of the two, neither the piano nor the saxophone, for this, he uses pure lines,
clean rhythms and harmonies according to the moment. The choice of the
saxophone is not a coincidence, but rather I was looking for an instrument
capable of conveying that atmosphere that Eastern music gives, with those dark
colors, transmitting emotions, favoring the writing of full chords. In the version
15 French composer and critic born on January 6, 1600, he began studying piano with his mother, then
studied harmony and organ with Edouard Commete, and later moved to Lyons where he studied with
Florent Schmitt. He died on September 17, 1936 in a car accident.
16 In 1925, Schmitt wrote the soundtrack for a film based on Flaubert's novel Salammbô.
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with orchestra he combined the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic elements in an
exemplary way, simple in sound but without covering the essential, in the
version with piano, he wanted the pianist to have his hands busy, he does not
lose any of the qualities of the other version, although here it is even clearer and
purer in character. The story of the Légende must have been imagined by a
poet, having reminiscences of Scheherazade, Salomé and Salammbô.
Although the pace of the play is flexible, it remains calm throughout. Schmitt
does not refer to any metronomic mark, playing the first motif at a speed of 56-
60, the evocative and passionate character is transported thinking more than
about each of the long notes, as a global sense of crescendo evoking the
tension of a suggestive inner enthusiasm. The sound must be deep and
pleasant, the support of the constant air, supporting without weakening the
musical discourse that culminates in a kind of almost religious calm, transporting
us to a last breath expected by satisfied lovers.
La Lègende today is considered one of the main works of the concert repertoire
of the early 20th century.

TWENTIETH CENTURY

musical situation

At the beginning of the 20th century there was a break with the progress that
preceded the two previous centuries, the functional harmonic scheme was
broken, with the appearance of various alternatives to those previous tonal
functions.
The most important trends that occurred in this first half of the century can be
summarized as follows:

• Musical styles that employed national folk languages continued to

emerge.
• Several movements incorporated the new discoveries made during the
first half of the century into musical styles that had a relationship with the
principles, forms and techniques of the past, especially with the baroque
and classical periods.

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 • The German musical language of Wagner and other composers was
transformed into the serial or twelve-tone styles of Arnold Schönberg,
Alban Berg and Antón Webern, sometimes manifesting expressionism in
its disjointed melody, shocking dissonances, sudden changes and
dynamic contrasts.

• In reaction to the previous trend (serial music), some composers returned

to simpler languages more to the public's taste.

After the end of the Second World War, a transformation began, there would no
longer be a unitary aesthetic as until now, but different styles would be
intertwined at the same time. The fifties was the decade of serial music and the
euphoria of composers upon finding an innovation in Weber, who, starting from
the serial organization of the pitch of sound with the twelve musical notes
(dodecaphonism), freed music from its disposition. of horizontal (melody) and
vertical (harmony) textures, being criticized by Schönberg who took the twelve-
tone system to its limits. Weberg promoted integral serialism, which broke with
the past and was based on the mathematical control of all the musical elements
of a piece, notes, duration, attack and dynamics. His main precursor was Oliver
Messiaen, later his students such as Pierre Ovules and Stockhausen would take
his turn. Even Stravinsky addressed this tendency in his third compositional
phase. The sixties were about overcoming serial ties and were more about
experimentation and improvisation. Parallel to these trends, the use of electronic
media applied to music occurred in France, first in French concrete music and
later in electronic music. After these two, electroacoustic music was discussed,
mixing sounds from live instruments with those produced electronically. Another
trend was minimalism, based on the reduction of information to a minimum, due
to equality and excessive repetitions.
The latest trends of the century were ethnic music, dating music or neotonal
music.

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 Neoclassicism

In the first half of the 20th century, this style emerged mainly around the figure of
Stravinsky. Neoclassicism mainly dealt with the theme of the resurrection of
absolute forms such as the symphony, the sonata, the concert, etc., the
exaltation of order and discipline, over the emotional elements of art, the return
to the forms of the pre-romantic era, such as the suite, the Divertimento, the
Toccata, the Concerto Grosso, the Fugue, etc.
All the composers of this style gave their personal proposals compared to the
previous music of the Postromanticism and Impressionism periods, they
incorporated new discoveries, but at the same time they did not lose continuity
with tradition, maintaining the recognizable features of the past, such as the
tonal centers. , melodic form, movements of ideas oriented towards a goal, at
the same time they also dealt with the resurrection of absolute forms (the
symphony, the sonata, the concert), the exaltation of order and discipline, over
the emotional elements.
Parallel to Stravinsky's Neoclassicism, a type of music appeared in Germany
that was easy to listen to and interpret, but with great musical quality. Its main
standard-bearer was Paul Hindemith, and it received the name
Gebrauchsmusik. A clear example from this period is the “Sonata” for alto
saxophone and orchestra by P. Hindemith. ( Track 6 )
In France it also had representation in the Group of Six 17 , whose purpose was
to free French music from German and impressionist influence. Thus Erik Satie
included the saxophone in the symphonic panorama with “Parade” or Darius
Milhaud in the “Création du Monde”18 (1923), inspired by American music hall
and jazz, including ragtime syncopations and blues third. We can also include
Ravel with his “Bolero” (1928), a true masterpiece of orchestration, where he
included soprano and tenor saxophones.
The neoclassical spirit was also represented in “Soviet Realism”, having
Schostakovich and Prokofiev as representatives, reconciling the classical formal

17 The group of Six was made up of: Georges Auric (1899-1983), Louis Durey (1888-1979), Artur
Honegger (1892-1955), Darius Milhaud (1892-1966), Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) and Germaine
Tailleferre (1892 1983).
18 Ballet created on a “black” plot by Blaise Cendrars.
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treatment with the most innovative technical procedures; strong rhythmic drive,
melody with wide and unexpected turns, diatonic and slightly dissonant harmony
for expressive reasons, an example of Prokofiev is the saxophone incursion in
“Lieutenant Kijé” (1933) or “Romeo and Juliet” (1929).
Other works of great importance that deal with classical forms are, for example:

• “Sonata” – Hans Brehme (1932), alto saxophone and piano.

• “Sonata” – Erwin Dressel (1933), alto saxophone and piano.
• “Concerto in Eb” – Alexander Glazounov (1933), alto saxophone and
orchestra. ( Track 7 )
• “Introduction et Capricho Op.11” – Edmund von Heiden (1934).
• “Chamber Concertino” – Jaques Ibert (1935), alto saxophone and
chamber group (11 instruments). ( Track 8 )
• “Sonata” – Bernhard Heiden (1937), alto saxophone and piano.
• “Sonata” – Paul Creston (1939), alto saxophone and piano. ( Track 9 )
• “Scaramouche – Eugéne Bozza (1944), alto saxophone and piano.
• “Sonatine” – René Guillou (1946), alto saxophone and piano.
• “Sonatine” – Claude Pascal (1948), alto saxophone and piano.

As happened with Elise Hall, who revolutionized the panorama of creation of

works for the saxophone at the end of the 19th century, in this period the
instrumentalists who influenced the great creation of works for the instrument
were Marcel Mule (France) and Sigurd Rascher (Germany) among others.

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 Marcel Mule

He was born on July 24, 1901 in Aube (Normandy). He

studied with the violinist Gabriel Willaume, later he
joined the Republican Guard with the saxophone of
which he was soloist from 1923 to 1936, in addition to
playing in recording studios and fashionable dance
orchestras (where he began to use vibrato) or
eventually in opera and comic opera. With his
companions from the Guard he formed a saxophone
quartet under the name of the Paris Quartet (later
called the Marcel Mule Quartet), playing the soprano saxophone. Numerous
works for saxophone were dedicated to him, such as “Quartet in Bb” by A.
Glazounov ( Track 10 ), “Introduction and variations on a popular rondo” by
Gabriel Pierné, “Concerto” by Henry Tomassi, “Quartet” Op.102 by Florent
Schmitt or “Quartet” by Alfred Desenclos.

Quartet of the Republican Guard (1937), composed by Marcel Mule (soprano),

g. Gourdet (high), G. Lacour (tenor) and M. José
(baritone).
Sigurd Rascher
22

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Born on May 15, 1907 in Elberfeld, Roman Prussia
(Germany), he studied clarinet with Philipp Dreisbach in
Stuttgart, but soon specialized in the saxophone. In
Berlin he worked in the early 1930s with Professor
Bumcke, who for some time incorporated him into his
own quartet. Rascher practiced with Buncke the notes of
the high register, lengthening the extension of the
saxophone to around four octaves. During his stay in
Berlin, he contacted Edmund von Breck and Paul
Hindemith, the latter's colleague
Gustav Bumke. In 1933 he traveled to France to work with Hermann Scherchen,
the great conductor of avant-garde music. In Paris he met Jaques Ibert and
Glazounov. Later he played before Lara Eric Larsson and Frank Martín; All of
these composers, impressed by the new possibilities offered by the saxophone,
dedicated very important works to it in our repertoire.
Rascher often played as a soloist with the best orchestras and under the batons
of the greatest conductors. Political events in Germany forced him to leave
Berlin, and after having taught at the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen (1933)
and at the same time at Malmo in Sweden, Sigurd Rascher settled in the United
States (1939), where his influence It would be very important. Thanks to
Rascher, the saxophone repertoire has been enriched with dozens of works, of
which just under fifty are concertos for alto saxophone and orchestra.
Works by Edmund von Brock, Alexander Glazounov, Paul Hindemith, Jaques
Ibert, Lars Erie Larsson, Frank Martin, Albert Moesehinge, Karel Husa, Henry-
Dixon Cowel, Erland von Koch, Alois Haba, etc. All of them, except Ibert, used a
musical language with a very strong Germanic character.
Rascher died at home on February 25, 2001.

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From this time on, between the 1940s and the 1970s, there were also many
instrumentalists who influenced the expansion of the repertoire, with composers
dedicating numerous works to it. Apart from them, numerous increasingly more
saxophone quartets also helped this expansion. frequent to the point of ceasing
to be a simple curiosity, as it was until then. An important fact was that from this
time onwards, the teaching of the saxophone was promoted in numerous
countries, integrating music conservatories with specific teachers of the
instrument and not, as before, when woodwind and clarinet teachers commonly
taught their teaching. Several saxophonists who contributed to this expansion of
the repertoire were Daniel Deffayet (France) and Cecil Leeson (USA) among
others.

Daniel Deffayet

Daniel is Marcel Mule's successor at the

CNSP of Paris, after listening to M. Mule in
the radio broadcasts that were broadcast
at the time, decided to study privately with
him, once saxophone classes opened at
the conservatory, Daniel Deffayet was one
of the first students enrolled, obtaining first
prize in 1943. His musical training did not
begin with the saxophone, but from a
young age with the violin, expanded with
other teachers such as Chamber Music with J. Benvenuti, Violin with Tourret
and Harmony with M. Durfle. Starting in October 1940, he began to replace
Marcel Mule as saxophonist in many of the performances in opera and comic
opera. Shortly after 1944 he began working as a teacher at the Paris municipal
conservatory, the L'escole municipal de musique de Beauvais and between
1951 and 1957, he was a professor

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 of the Mans Conservatory. In 1953 he debuted as a soloist and later founded
his “Quator de saxophones Daniel Deffayet”, with which he toured different
countries such as France, England, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Canada,
USA, Japan and Korea, until It was dissolved in 1988. In 1968 he joined the
CNSM in Paris as a professor, replacing his teacher Marcel Mule, and great
saxophonists such as Jaques Charles, Pierric Leman, Jean Pierre Vermeeren,
Jean Yves Fourmeau, Jean Pierre Caens, Jean Pierre Baraglioli, Max Jezquin,
Peca came out of his master classes. Savijoki, Daniel Kienzy and Claude
Delangle.

Cecil Leeson

He was born in 1902 in Cando (North Dakota) and

represents the classical school in the United
States. He was the one who gave the first
saxophone recital in New York in 1925, at a time
when the general trend for saxophonists was
closely related to show music (vaudeville, dance
music, etc.) and Jazz. As a solo saxophonist, he
played in numerous American orchestras such as
the Roschester Philharmonic, the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra,
York”, “Montreal Symphony”, also played in Big Bands and similar formations in
areas of Buffalo, Detroit and Cleveland. On February 5, 1937 at Carnegie Hall,
he premiered Glazounov's concerto for the first time in the United States,
accompanied on piano by Paul Creston. The orchestral version of the same
would be performed on January 31, 1938 with the Roschester Philharmonic,
under directed by José Iturbi. He made some recordings and numerous works
were dedicated to him by composers such as Jaromir Weinberger, Paul Creston,
Edward Morizt, Burnet Turhill, Leo Stein, Lawson Lunde, Garland Anderson,
Bernard Brindel, Robert Sherman and Morris Knight.

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 Avant-garde or Contemporary Music

From this resurrection of the classical forms that existed in Neoclassicism, there
is a break with atonalism, now all sounds have the same importance, developing
at the same time as twelve-tone music. Arnold Schönberg (included the
saxophone in “Von Heute auf Morgan” and “Das Berliner Requiem”) is his
precursor along with his students Alban Berg (“Concert in Memory of an Angel”,
Opera “Lulú”) and Antón Von Webern ( “Das Augenlich” Op.26). This trend
evolved to integral serialism, where it is not just note pitches, but timbres,
rhythms and harmonies, the best-known representatives in the saxophonist field
would be K. Stockhausen, P. Boulez or L. Berio. random music 19 seeks the
formal and expressive freedom of the work with harmonic and rhythmic
innovations, contrary to the stochastic music represented by Yannis Xenakis 20 ,
applying the laws of mathematics to music. All these genres that exist are
difficult to classify when merged with each other, since the same composer can
change and combine different musical currents.
According to Jean Marie Londeix (thanks to him many works were also
contributed to the repertoire), starting in the seventies, there was a change in
the appearance of the saxophone, the music that was made until that time was
music “for” the saxophone, From then on the music was “of” the saxophone,
these works would be written thinking exclusively about the instrument,
exploiting all its acoustic, timbral and percussive resources and possibilities
(attacks, noises, a multitude of effects), including the use of elements typical of
progress. current technical equipment such as synthesizers, samples, magnetic
tapes, etc.

19 Random music is a musical compositional technique based on the use of elements not regulated by
established guidelines and in which improvisation from unstructured sequences takes on a predominant
role.
20 Composer and architect of Greek descent born on May 29, 1922 in Bräila, Romania; He became a
French citizen and spent much of his life in Paris, where he died on February 4, 2001. He is acclaimed as
one of the most important composers of contemporary music. Pioneer of the use of computers in
algorithmic musical composition, in the music. There Xenakis conceived and developed the system, which
allows the direct sonic realization of the graphic notation that is carried out on a tablet.
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 Jean-Marie Londeix

Born on September 20, 1932 in Libourne (France), he has been one of the most
renowned saxophonists in history, he was a student
of Pierre Ferry at the Bordeaux Conservatory (1942-
46) and later of Marcel Mule at the CNSM in Paris ,
winning first prize in 1953. From there he has
continued studying the evolution of the saxophone in
recent decades, being a standard-bearer for a new
generation of saxophonists involved in
experimentation and development of new stylistic
resources. His career as a teacher began at the
Dijon Conservatory (1953) as a professor of saxophone and music theory,
passing through the University of Michigan (1968) and ending as a professor at
the Bordeaux Conservatory from 1970 until 1990, when he retired. Thanks to his
involvement in the development of the saxophone, he has dedicated a hundred
works, highlighting “Sonate” by E. Denisov, first work of the saxophonist
repertoire where multiphonic sounds are used ( Track 11 ), “Piccolo Concerto”
for four saxophones played by the same player and percussion by E. Denisov,
“Concerto” by P. M. Dubois, “Rapsodie” by P. Creston, “Improvisation I” by Ryo
Noda or “Le frenè Egaré” for solo saxophone by François Rossé.

John Samper

Born in the USA, his training was with the greatest pedagogues of that country
such as D. Sinta, L. Teal and Fred Hemke, making him a great soloist. In 1970
he won the “Genoa International Competition” and in 1979 a similar one in
Belgium. As I mentioned, he has contributed to the repertoire, with more than 40
dedicated works by composers such as Balcom, Beerman, J. Cage, Tower, R.
Noda, K. Stockchausen or Lutoslawski.

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 Claude Delangle

French saxophonist, he began studying saxophone at the CNRM in Lyon with

Serge Bichon, obtaining first prize and later expanded his career with two more
years at the CNSM in Paris with Daniel
Deffayet. Once he finished his career, he was
a professor at the CNRM of Boulongue-
Billancourt in 1982, and later he was
appointed professor at the CSNM in Paris,
replacing his professor Daniel Deffayet in
1988. As a curiosity, the “Henry Lemoine”
publishing house has two collections under
the name of Claude Delangle, where new
repertoire pieces recommended by him are
proposed. He has played for a long time with
Pierre Boulez in the “Ensemble
Intercontemporaine”, apart from playing as a
soloist with orchestras such as “Radio France”, “Orchester de Monte Carlo”,
“Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra”, etc. He also performs recitals accompanied by
the piano, played by his wife Odile.

Ronald Caravan

A student of Sigurd Rascher, in addition to being a saxophonist and clarinetist

he is a composer, he was editor of the magazine NAS A21 The saxophone
21 North American Saxophone Alliance
- Key percussion - consists of pressing vigorously on the fingering without
blowing air, to produce a noise.
- Key attacks - is the use of percussion only at the beginning of the sound.
- White Noises - are produced when playing directly on the leadpipe,
producing a sound.
- Tongue Ram .- is a type of strong attack on the neck of the instrument, it
has a greater effect on the bass of the family.
- Wind Sounds - are produced by sending only air into the saxophone tube,
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Symposium. Being a professor at the University of Syracuse, he has done great
work in the study of resources applicable to contemporary music, highlighting his
Preliminary method (1979). He has also written works from solo saxophone to
ensemble, through its different variants.

Philip Delibero

He is a member of the Music Faculty of Western Connecticut State College, and

studied with Donald Sinta. His career as a soloist focused on new works for
saxophone, in his book LP “Textures I”, you can hear in the work “Three
novelties for alto saxophone” (1971) by Allan Blank, new effects linked to the
new repertoire, such as noise of keys, voice and singing simultaneous with the
sound of the saxophone or whistling in the context of the work.

At this time, the alto saxophone already lost its supremacy over the other
instruments of the family, now they all have the same importance and are even
combined with each other within the same work. When trying above all to look
for games and timbral changes, you must have control of the instrument by
combining different embouchures and pressures. in addition to knowing the
different techniques that all these new pieces include. The following resources
are some examples, not leaving aside those that deal with the control of
traditional qualities such as nuances, attacks, tuning, vibrato, etc.:

noises

without vibrating the reed.

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Timbre changes
- Micro-intervals - is the distance between two sounds, smaller than a
semitone. They are produced with special fingerings, indicated by the
composer. An example is the rising or falling ¼ tone.
- Multiphonic Sounds - several sounds produced at the same time, are
produced by special fingerings, controlling air and throat pressure.
- Bisbligando .- is a kind of timbre trill produced by opening and closing
fingerings indicated by the author.
- Glisando .- move from one sound to another by moving it (ascending or
descending) through all the intermediate sounds.
- De-cimbrado .- hide the sound and timbre of the instrument.
- Vibrato - is only used when the author specifies it, sometimes
exaggeratedly and irregularly by manipulating the amplitude and
frequency.

Attacks
- Multiple types of attacks - there is a wide variety of them.
- Flutter .- Also called Frulatti or Flatterzing, it is produced when
pronouncing the consonant “R” and makes a multiple strike of the tongue
on the reed.
- Reverse sounds - produced by growing abruptly and cutting the sound by
blocking the reed with the tongue.
- Slap .- its translation is slap, it is a dry and percussive attack, produced
by a suction cup effect of the tongue on the reed and when removing the
tongue, it strongly hits it against the mouthpiece.

Other techniques
- Voice game - sing and play simultaneously, which can be in unison,
octave or any other pitch, with sufficient mastery.
- Simultaneous saxophone - is about playing several instruments at the
same time, usually two. While one instrument produces a prolonged

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 sound, the other is fingering.

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 Tree Pezzi by Giacinto Scelsi

(soprano saxophone solo)

The Spezia (Italy) Count of Ayala Valva is born, Giacinto Scelsi reveals himself
as a child of extraordinary musical qualities,
improvising freely at the piano. He studied composition
in Rome with Giacinto Sallustio, while maintaining his
independence from the musical environment of his
time.
During the interwar period and until the beginning of
the 1950s, he made numerous trips to Africa and the
East; He resides abroad for some time, mainly in
France and Switzerland.
He worked in Geneva with Egon Koehler, who introduced him to Scriabine's
compositional system, and studied twelve-tone music in Vienna (1935-36) with
Walter Klein, a student of Schönberg.
During the 1940s, Scelsi went through a serious and long crisis, personal and
spiritual, from which he emerged at the beginning of the 1950s, encouraged by a
renewed conception of life and music. Therefore, “SOUND” will occupy the
center of his thinking and, for his part, the name of composer will be denied to
be considered only as a kind of medium through which messages from a
transcendental reality pass. He returned to Rome around 1951-52 and led a
solitary life attributed to an ascetic investigation into sound. In parallel, he joined
the Roman group Nuova Consonanza, which brings together avant-garde
composers such as Franco Evangelisti. With the Quattro Pezzi on a single note
(1959, for chamber orchestra), ten years of intense experimentation on sound
come to an end; From then on, his mature works carried out a kind of withdrawal
within, towards the depth of the sound that would be found from now on
multiplied, divided into its small components.

Then follow more than twenty-five years of creative activity during which Scelsi's

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music is rarely judged: it is necessary to wait for the movement of curiosity (and
admiration) for his appearance on the part of young French composers (Tristan
Murail, Gérard Grisey and Michaël Lévinas) during the 70s and the “Ferienkurse
für Neue Musik” in Darmstad in 1982 to see his work recognized on the big day.
Author of aesthetic tests and poems (four volumes in French), Giacinto Scelsi
died on August 9, 1988. There were controversies in Italy shortly after his death
regarding the authenticity of his activity as a composer. Most of his works are
published in Salabert.

Analysis of the work

THREE PEZZI (I)

The first movement of Tre Pezzi uses a restricted scope and a very simple
tonality to address the composer's meditative principles. The foundation of this
movement consists of a pentatonic range: D-C-Bb- A-F#. Like Middle Eastern
improvisers, Scelsi chooses the insistence on a few notes to drive the form of
this piece. In this range, the three central sounds (C, Bb, A) form the main
structure, the primary voice. The use of high C and F# (two sounds noticeably
more discreet than the other three) creates a kind of framing of these central
notes. It is important to note that no note goes beyond the scope, and that each
one has its own role within the range.
The high D could be described as a kind of squeaky sound due to its surprising
height relative to the other sounds. The distance that separates the F# from the
central sounds also insists on the difference in register, but in this case with a
serious tessitura. Also the bisbigliandi (measures 17 and 27) give a particular
color effect.

The importance of the high D and the low F# is evident in the first three
measures. The reason for its introduction (bars 1 to 3) is a juxtaposition between
these furthest notes, which is also a middle note (C) repeated several times. The
order of the notes does not change, only slight variations in rhythm and nuances

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color this passage.

From the fifth measure, the motif develops little by little with the arrival of other
notes (Bb, in the fifth measure). The theme disappears with the transitions of the
descending middle sounds (measures 7 to 14) which will be explored a little
later. In measure 15 we still recognize the motif, but now in a different key with a
strange sound: E b.

The “theme” is the most visible part of the movement. Probably the most
important fact is the underlying development of the fundamental structure of this
“written improvisation.” It consists of a compositional gesture on the central
notes (measures 1 to 18). From the third measure (3rd repetition of the motif),
the C lasts longer and longer (measures 4, 5 and 6). The increase in duration is
explained because the C is the main note at the beginning. Measures 7 and 8
consist of a transition between this first note and its neighbor, B b. The arrival of
this is also marked by an increasingly longer duration (bars 8, 9 and 10).

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Measure 11 again brings a transition, but this time the B sound b is with the
descending A sound. After the repetitions of the three notes, bars 15 to 18 will
see the exploration of their sound relationships. For these four measures, a
small ascending motif (A next to C) alternates with a contrary motif (B next to A).

These two motifs contain the note La that insistently closes the introduction.
Then begins the improvisation development section (tras ritenuto). The A
continues to have importance, embellished with neighboring notes
melismatically, in the style of Middle Eastern singers. Very quickly we feel more
movement and tension. The “golden sound” of the pentatonic range: G# gains
importance (two G#s in f and mf in the middle of measure 20). In this section the
energy of the melismas increases, the movements are increasingly faster to lead
this sound to its apogee (bars 26-27). Then, in measure 24, the most nervous
melismas begin flirting with the tense note (G #) that is presented with a
sforzando that descends and then rises to a high D (Tritone) creating together
the climax of the movement (up to measure 29 ).

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After this section, the tension decreases by repeating descending phrases until
measure 31.

Starting in measure 32, the resolving section has Bb as the most important
sound, which could end in this way with a descrescendo to a pianissimo
(measure 34). However, measure 35 brings again a last shrill high D, longer
than ever, which can be considered the composer's enigmatic signature in this
lively movement.

THREE PEZZI (II)

The second movement is slow, calm, meditative (very well suited to the tenor
sax). The nuances play an essential role here, active with the inflections as a
relief on a sober and magical melodic line.
In the following example, we notice that these inflections play a double role:

a) Relaunch a movement suspended by sustained notes.

b) Maintain the melodic line by repeating the pivot or base notes.

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In the first part (A) the oscillation between A b-G seems to be the main melodic
element. The A b remains synonymous with tension (because it is more moved
and present in the inflections), the G, however, as synonymous with rest
(sustained notes). This part also closes with a sharp G that disappears, a sign of
appeasement (4th staff of the 1st measure).

The end of the first page and the first three staves of the second can be
considered a development of part A, since:
a) The melodic phrases modulate, especially the first, articulated around the B
b. Then one follows around the Sun (but with the contribution of the B b) to
end with in D (page 2)
b) The rhythm becomes noticeably livelier and the inflections more numerous.
The third part (B) is characterized by a mirror writing whose central point is low
G (end of the 7th staff, page 2). This part, calmer than the preceding
development, is built around D middle after G Grave. But what is characteristic is
the inverted production of this part B.

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We will also highlight that (at the end of page 3) the reproduction appears, this
time contrary to part A, making the two thematic elements a reflection of parts A
and B. However, Sol and not A b, lead the piece in an optic of appeasement.

THREE PEZZI (III)

The third movement has a structure defined in 7 phrases delimited by the series:
A – B – D – E b – F – G, adorned by three appoggiatura notes
(Do – Do # and Mi) frequently.
Phrases TO b c d AND F g
Compasses 1 7 10 11 12 13 15-23
Polo Notes The IF Sun La-Sol-La La-Fa-Sol La-Mib-Re La-Re La-Re-Sol
Re-La La-Re-La
La-Fa-Re-La
Re-La

The melodic discourse is articulated around two main poles: Re and A, which
have, so to speak, “dominant” and “tonic” note values. The other notes may also
have attractive value, but over shorter periods and too insignificant to be
classified as “polo notes.” This “Gregorian” imitation skeleton is set in motion by
two dynamic elements:

a) The rhythm: Varied and highly decorated, it relegates the strict pulsation to
the background, due to the alternation of a combined binary and ternary
structure, punctuated by omnipresent 5-note groups.
b) The nuances: From a palette between pp and f, supplying with a fast and
very high tempo the essentials of a tonic and fast phrasing that gives this
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 enchantment spasmodic accents to the gasping and chaotic shocks.

There are many more works that include all new methods and techniques of
playing that were incorporated in this century, below I include the most important
ones for each instrument:

soprano saxophone
• “Ixor” – Giacinto Scelsi (1956). Only.
• “Tree pezzi” – Giacinto Scelsi (1961). Solo ( Track 12 )
• “Sequenza VIIb” – Luciano Berio (1969/93). Only
• “In Freundschaft” – Karlheinz Stockhausen (1977). Only
• “Tréssage” – Etienne Rolin (1983-84). Soprano and piano
• “Acting in” – José Luis Campana (1982). Soprano or Tenor.
• “Opcit” – Philippe Hurel (1984). Only.
• “Distance” – Taru Takemitsu (1972). Only.
• “Ephémères” – Alain Louvier (1983). Only.
• “Scriu Nuande tàu” – François Rossé (1992). Only.
• “Digital” – Thierry Alla. Only.

Alto Saxophone
• “Sequenza IXb” – Luciano Berio (1980). Only. ( Track 13 )
• “Improvisations II and III” – Ryo Noda (1973-74). Only
• “Sonate” – Edison Denisov (1970). Alto and piano.
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 • “Arabesque III” – Ichiro Nodaira (1983). Alto and piano.
• “Sud” – Cristian Lauba (1989). Alto and piano.
• “Gavambodi 2” – Jacques Charpentier. Alto and piano.
• “Concerto” Edison Denisov. Alto and piano.

Tenor Saxophone
• “Periple” – Paul Mefano (1978). Only.
• “Chant Premier” – Marcel Mihalovici (1974). Tenor and piano. ( Track
14 )
• “Le chant des tenèbres” – Thierry Escaich. Tenor and orchestra.
“AE” – Maurizio Pisati (1992). Only.
“Episode Quatrième” – Betsy Jolas (1982). Only.

Baritone Saxophone

• “In Luminae” – David Cooper. Baritone and piano.

• “Dream in a bar” – Crisitan Lauba. Baritone and percussion.
• “Oxiton” – Christophe Havel (1990). Only.
• “Magnongan” – Giacinto Scelsi. Only.

Bass Saxophone

• “Anubis the Nout” – Gérard Grisey. Only.

• “Aksax” – Costin Miereanu (1983). Only. ( Track 15 )

Works that combine several saxophones22

• “Oraisons pour un Seoul instrumentaliste” – Henry Sauget (1976). S, A,

T, B and organ.
• “Songs” – Stefan Niculescu (1984). Sp, A, T, B.
• “Narration II” – Anatole Vieru (1985). Sp, A, B and orchestra.
• “Concerto” – Miriam Marbé (1986). S, A, B and orchestra.

22 Nomenclature for the different saxophones: Sp (sopranino), S (soprano), A (alto), T (tenor), B

(baritone), Bj (bass) and Cbj (double bass).
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 • “Picolo Concerto” – Edison Denisov (1977). S, A, T, B and 6
percussionists.
• “One Color” – Luis de Pablo. Sp, S, T, B, B, Cbj and orchestra. ( Track
16 )
• “Boun natale Fratello Fritz” – Volker Heyn. S and T.
• “Caligramme” – Thérèse Brenet (1981). S and A.
• “Etki en Droutzy” – François Rossé. S, Bj and percussion.
• “Sonata in Arcs” – François Rossé (1982). A and S.

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 Chant Premier by M. Mihalovici

(tenor saxophone and piano)

Marcel Mihalovici was born in Bucharest, October 22, 1898 and died in Paris on
August 12, 1985. He was a French composer
born in Romania. He was discovered by George
Enescu in Bucharest and moved to Paris in 1919,
at the age of 21 to study with Vincent d'Indy.
Among his compositions are Sonata number 1
for violin and piano (1920), Mélusine opera
(1920, libretto by Yvan Goll), 1st string quartet
(1923), 2nd string quartet (1931), Sonata number
2 for violin and piano (1941), Sonata for violin
and cello (1944), Phèdre Opera (1949), Studies
in two parts for piano and instrumental ensemble
(1951) and Exercises for harp (1960). Many of his
piano works were first performed by his wife, a
renowned concert pianist, Monique Haas.
Mihalovici was the composer for the music of Samuel Beckett's Cascando
(1962). His Fifth Symphony features a soprano singing a poem by Beckett, and
he used Krapp's Cinta Pasada as the basis for a small opera.
Chant Premier is the most important work of tonal music written for tenor
saxophone by a classical composer. Unfortunately this is not known by the vast
majority of saxophonists.
Although his musical language is personal and complicated, Marcel Mihalovici
remains very close to the popular music of his native Romania. This can be seen
in Chant Premier, with its romantic agogic impulses, energetically anchored to
musical traditions with a lyrical feel for one's own soul.

This work is subtitled “Sonata”, it has the genre of a symphonic movement (in
the sense that is used by his friend Arthur Honegger) and is a commentary on
the first canto of the work “The Songs of Maldoror” written by Isidore Ducasse,
also known as the Count of Lautréamont. At the beginning of the work an
excerpt from the first song appears written that says:

“ Old ocean, oh great celibate; when you walk through the solemn solitude of

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 your
phlegmatic kingdoms, you are justly proud of your natural magnificence and
the well-deserved praise that I hasten to dedicate to you .”

The Songs of Maldonor are a narrative poem in prose, of macabre beauty, full of
violence, obscenity and blasphemous imagery that celebrates the principle of “
evil ”, with a passion comparable to religious fanaticism. The songs of Maldoror,
among the most atypical and surprising works in literature, were written between
1868 and 1869 and published that same year. The songs that make up the book
are the work of a twenty-two-year-old man who will be taken away by death just
a year later. The text is appreciated for its surrealism, it is a painful poem that
conveys the rebellion of a man against God with blasphemous fury (here the
sense of being is represented), Shaken by tense relationships and deeply
subconscious underwater currents that lead to violence and These storms are
not pacified until the death of the hallucinated man, or in the sleep of the
exhausted earth.
This powerful and explosive music is full of the contortions of stretching and
contraction, therefore this work is unique, at least in saxophone literature.
The piano version requires a lot of technical skill as in Liszt's B minor sonata,
especially for the pianist. Mihalovici's wife, Monique Haas, had these skills. The
orchestral version, created after the piano version during the summer of 1974,
accentuates the movement's flow between agogic tension and relaxation.

The piece begins with calm, melodic motifs, making a pianissimo unison,
essentially based on a three-note formula at a distance of minor seconds and
decreasing by augmented fifths. This formula is repeated more or less
throughout the work or rather energetic whims as in numbers 6 or 18. From
number 5 onwards the calm that it brought begins to be cut off and the measure
advances little by little until reaching two measures before number 7 where the
time changes to Appassionato, even changing the measure to a ternary
subdivision combining it with binary, when before it always came in binary.
Eight bars after number 9 there is a pause where it seems that that tension
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ends, but it still continues until a small cadence that it has in number 18. It then
pauses until number 19 with notes with furulatto. Where it begins again with the
motif from the beginning, making variations on that theme.
At number 25 it changes again to an Apassionatto tempo, combining the same
previous subdivision until reaching number 29 where the calm begins again until
reaching the end where it ends up repeating the same motif three times and is
completed by the piano with some chords in pp until it is lost.
The main challenge for the performer involves the presentation of frequent
character changes, very clearly indicated by the composer, such as, for
example, “cantando espresivo”, “agitato”, “calmato”, “animando”, “agitato ed
animato”, “calmando”, “espresivo nostalgico”, “agitato”, “appasionato”, “agitato di
più”, “violente”, “strepitando”, “semplice, sognando”, “morendo”, etc. Another
great difficulty when interpreting the work is the pulse of the rhythm, as there are
many changes throughout the work.
Not only is the saxophone repertoire designed for soloists, there is a very
important section for chamber music with the most diverse compositions. The
most traditional composition is that of the saxophone quartet composed of
Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone. One of the pioneering quartets was the
famous “The Rascher saxophone Quartet” founded by Sigurd Rascher in 1967
and led by his daughter Carina since 1971. Thanks to this quartet, its repertoire
has been expanded by the nearly 230 works dedicated to it, by composers such
as Berio, Glass, Gubaidulina, Halffter, Haubenstock-Romati, Stucku, Wuorinen,
Hartley, Xenakis, etc. Not only did they dedicate chamber music to him, but they
also have around twenty works integrating the quartet into the symphony
orchestra, for example the “Concerto” for saxophone quartet and orchestra by
Philip Glass, being one of the most performed in the decade of the nineties.
Composers such as Henk Bading and YoVan den Booren have also dedicated
works for quartet and orchestra to the “Brabant saxophone Quartet”.
France is at the head of these groups with such prestigious quartets as the
“Marcel Mule Quartet” (1928), “Daniel Deffayet” (1953) and “Yves Fourmeau”
(1979), in addition to those created by the students of these such as “Quatour

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Habanera”, “Quatour Diastema”, “Cuarteto Xasax”, “Ars Gallica” or “Les
Désaxés”, contributing to the expansion of the saxophonist repertoire.
In the US we can name, among others, the “New York saxophone Quartet”
(1959) as one of the first in the US, the “Chicago saxophone Quartet” (1968) or
the “Prism Quartet”.
In London the quartet has consolidated into formations such as “The London
Saxophone Quartet” (1969), the “English Saxophone Quartet” (1975), “Scottish
Saxophone Quartet” and the “Myrha Quartet”.
In Holland the “Aurelia Saxophone Quartet” stands out.
In Canada there is the “Le Nouveau Quatour de saxophones de Québec”
inspired by young composers from his country.
In Italy, the “Quartetto di Sassofini Academia” stands out, to whom thirty new
works have been dedicated.
In Spain you can list many quartets, duos or ensembles, from the pioneers such
as the “Spanish Saxophone Quartet”, “Saxophonist Quartet” from Madrid,
Valencia, Barcelona or the “Orpheus” quartet, to the most current ones such as
the “Quartet of Loquí saxophones”, “3+1 saxophone quartet”, “Edeta grup de
saxophones”, Miján sax quartet”, “Alcazaba saxophone quartet”, “Millereau
saxophone quartet”, “Adolphe Sax saxophone quartet”, “Quartet Itálica”,
“Quartet sax de Barcelona”, “Afrodisax quartet de saxofons”, “Ziryab saxophone
quartet”, “Melody saxophone duo”, “Ensemble Aksax”, “Oiasso Novis”, “City of
Sabiñanigo saxophone quartet”, “ Sax ensemble”, “Saxohie saxophone duo”,
“Parsax duo”, “Ictus saxophone quartet”, “Andalusian saxophone ensemble”,
“Toledo symphonic saxophonists”, “Family sax”, among others.

An example of the compositions that different authors have dedicated to

quartets, duos or ensembles are the following works:

Quartets

• “Variations pour quatour de saxophones” – René Leibowitz.

• “Aube Marine” – Edit Lejet (1982).

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 • “Le jeu des 7 musiques” – Alain Louvier (1986).
• “Quatour” – Ichiro Nodaira.
• “Alliages” – Antón Tisné (1971).
• “Xas” – Iannis Xenakis.
• “Vue sur les jardin inerdits” – Henry Pousseur (1976).
• “Facets” – Karl Korte (1975).
• “Quatour” – Tristan Keuris (1970).
• “Mad´ son VII” – François Rossé (1985).
• “Quartet No. 1” – Hans Kax (1985).

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 • “Quartet No. 2” – Hans Kax (1987-88).
• “Offshore” – Thierry Alla (1990).
• “Rash” – Franco Donatoni (1990).
• “Quartet” – Charles Wuorineu (1992).
• “Perceval” – Jean Louis Petits (1982).
• “Quartet” – Eckart Beinke (1993).
• “Cycliques” – Marc Carles.
• “Tetrapyle” – Thérèse Brenet (1978).
• “Uberbang” – Agustin Charles. Four saxophonists alternating 14
saxophones from Soprano to Bass.
• “Les Pecheurs d'ombres” – Michel Déom.
• “Even… the loudest sky” – B. M. Kuczer.
• “References” – Hilario Extremiana.
• “Anábasis” – Ramón Barce.
• “Fusiforms” – Joaquín Ayala.
• “OM” – Arthur Thomassin.
• “Knots” – Rafael Díaz.
• “Music for autumn” – José García Román.
• “Quartet” – José Susi.
• “Inter relationships” – Ramón Roldan Samiñan.
• “Red Solitudes” – Antonio Gualda.

Ensembles

• “Tezcatipoca” – Fernad Vandenbogaerde. Sp, 2S, 3rd, 3T, 2B, Bj.

• “Mutation-couleurs IV” – Christian Lauba (1985). 12 saxophones.
• “Spath” – François Rossé (1981). 12 saxophones.
• “Linker augentanz” – Karlheinz Stockhausen (1990). 12 saxophones,
percussion and synthesizer.
• “Rhea” – Francisco Guerrero (1988).
• “Erg” – Christian Lauba. 2S, 2A, 2T, 2B.
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 • “The 7 Islands” – Christian Lauba (1987). 12 saxophones.
• “Piece for 12 saxophones” – Ramón Porter (1997).
• “Le Chant des tenebres” – Thierry Escaich. 12 saxophones.
• “Versuch fractal udder” – K. Miyazawa.
• “Perfoc tiles” – Bernard Carlosema. Sp, 2S, 3rd, 3T, 2B, Bj.

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 XXI CENTURY

Electroacoustic Music

Although this particular style began to emerge after the Second World War,
thanks to the rapid advance of electronics and its application in various scientific
fields, I frame it within the 21st century, since it is still in full swing thanks to
saxophonists. who experiment day after day with new ways of making music.
Electroacoustics emerged as a unifying position between electronic music
and23 that was being done in Cologne (Germany) during the fifties and concrete
music24 , although little by little it became a general term that now encompasses
live electronics, tape music, and any other music or trend that can combine
sounds from the natural acoustic environment, whether conventionally musical
or not, with others generated from electronically. Here the performer can use
elements, even foreign ones, in our case to the saxophone, to create a new
sound material or the sound and timbre of the instrument are also combined,
with accompaniments created and treated in the laboratory (magnetic tapes) or
synthesizers, samples , etc., allowing the recording of the sounds and later the
manipulation of all the sound parameters. These elements recorded and
modified on a magnetic tape serve as accompaniment for a specific soloist.
Possibly the first to introduce this type of electronic effects in the world of the
saxophone were Jazz musicians, due to their greater freedom and innovation
when it comes to improvisation. An example is, Charlie Parker and Slim Garllard
used reverb effects in the 1940s.
Around 1965, the Selmer company began to experiment with the variation of
sound in the saxophone and created the “Varitone electric saxophone”, it was an
amplifier that could modulate the sound such as the volume and the quality of
the tone. Seeking to improve the register of the instrument, the implantation of
23 Music that uses purely electronic means to produce sounds.
24Type of sound organization that originates in the experiences of the composer Pierre Schaeffer
(composer of which it is worth highlighting “study for Locomotives”), in the French radio broadcasting
studios in 1948. It consists of recording and/or generating (previously on magnetic tape and since the
eighties on a synthesizer or computer), musical and non-musical sounds, (specific) noises, such as knocks,
screams, engine noise, birds singing, moos. , etc., which are called “sound objects”.

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microphones inside the body of the saxophone, even inside the mouthpiece,
was tried.
Another type of electronic saxophones were those that incorporated the MIDI
25
system . The first to appear was in Lyricom in 1974, invented by Bill Bernardi
and Roger Noble, and marketed by the company Computone Inc. From Norwell,
Massachusetts. Saxophonists such as Tom Scott, Wayne Shorter, Bernie
Maupin and Charles Lloyd experimented with it. Six years later, two new models
were added, the EVI (Electric Valve Instrument) designed for trumpets and the
EWI (Electric Wind Instrument) designed for the saxophone. They were invented
by INLE Steiner and marketed by Akai Company. The EWI was mainly used by
saxophonists from the world of Jazz such as Andy Mackay, Bob Mintzer, Jan
Garbarek, Sol Galline and Michael Brecker. Of all the midi instruments that were
created, the most popular was the Yamaha WX7, whose fingering is closest to
that of the conventional saxophone, like the Akai EWI, it had plastic sensors on
the reed allowing electrical impulses to be sent to vary the nuance, the pitch of
the sound and even the articulation. For this type of instruments, specific works
were created, such as:

• “Su Gat Mana” – Steve Galante (1987) for alto saxophone and Yamaha
WX7.
• “Concerto pour electronic Wind and string orchestra – Frederic Hemke
(1988). Performed at the 9th World Saxophone Congress in Tokyo
(Japan).

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a digital code that unifies musical notations. They can be
25

connected to a computer to manipulate sounds, or create the sound by connecting it to an amplifier.

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 • “In Two Worlds” – Norton Subotnick. The Wind controller is combined
with the traditional saxophone.
• “Proper Behavior” – Steven Everett (1984) for WX7, saxophone and
narrator.

These electronic instruments have also been applied to the field of chamber
music, thus the “Texas Saxophone Quartet” has used these instruments since
1989, performing specific works for this group such as “WX7 Quintet” by Ron
Newman, accompanied by a conventional saxophone played by Jim Riggs,
another example work is “Bird Whit Strings” performed at the National
saxophone Symposium in Washington (1989), accompanied by saxophonist Jim
Riggs and a string ensemble plus rhythm section. There are more quartets that
use WX7s, such as the “California saxophone Quartet” and “The Prims
saxophone Quartet”, dedicating Brad Ellis, his “Toca-ood Zasch” for four WX7s
and four saxophones.

Marie Bernadette

In the field of traditional saxophone, the line followed

by Jean Marie Londeix is being continued by Marie
Bernadette Charrier, current professor at the CNRM in
Bordeaux, teaching a contemporary music
interpretation course since September 1993. His
involvement in the field of electroacoustics is very
significant, since he regularly collaborates with the
“Octandre” association dedicated to the creation of this
type of repertoire. She is the founder and creator of
the group “Próxima Centuri”, creating a new repertoire that expands to more
than 30 dedicated works.

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 Daniel Kientzy

It is another type of more

independent line, his experimentation
with saxophones has taken him to
unimaginable limits. He started with
music from a very early age, being
part of a dance and Rock music
group playing the Bass, then he
studied Double Bass and ended up
being a double bass player in the
Limoges Opera Orchestra, apart from
that, he formed the early music group
“Música Victa”, where he performed
with Orlo, Fiauto and Viola de Gamba. He studied saxophone at the CNSM in
Paris, winning first prize in 1976. From there he dedicated himself to searching
for new sounds and expressive resources with the different saxophones in the
family, from the sopranino to the double bass. His collaboration with IRCAM
(Instituto de reserche et coordination Artistique Musique) has resulted in many
works. By 1986 he had approximately 150 dedicated works, highlighting the
Romanian composers Stefen Niculescu, Myriam Marbé, Anatole Vieru, Horatio
Redelescu, Cosin Miereanu and Aurel Store, as well as other composers from
whom he performed works such as Bernard, Cabaña, D. Teruggi, Kurtag, E.
Rolin, F. Rossé, François Bernard Mache, Horacio Vaggione, K. Stockhausen,
among others. Electroacoustics are essential in their recitals, in addition to their
staging, also managing to visually capture the audience's attention.
Below I cite several examples of works of this style:

• “Aulodie” – FB Mache (1983) for Soprano saxophone and tape, original

for oboe.
• “Interrogation” – Gyogry Kurtag (1983) Tenor, Bass, real-time
electroacoustics and tape.

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 • “Verbales d´un métal asseaux” – Patrick Mellé; Baritone, soprano voice
and electroacoustic device.
• “La cite Ouverte” – Aurel Strore; sopranino, soprano, baritone and
electroacoustics.
• “Goutte d'or” – Bernard Cavana; soprano and tape.
• “Hene” – Horacio Vaggione; Bass and magnetic stripe.
• “Domisiladoré” – C. Miereanu; saxophone and tape.
• “Voilements” – JC Risset; saxophone and tape.
• “Olos” – M. Decoust; tenor and electroacoustic device.
• “Surimpression II” – D. Cough; saxophone and electroacoustic device.
• “Phase 2” – Gearge Boeuf; soprano and band.
• “Saxstück” – Camille Roy; soprano, sopranino, double bass and
electroacoustic.( Track 17 )
• “Momments rituals” – Ton That; tenor, percussion and synthesizer.
• “Versanie 2” – B. Carlosema; alto, piano and bands.
• “Dimensions III” and “Dimensions IV” – McLean; saxophone and tape.
• “Evocation & song” – Mass; tall and tape.
• “Antiphon” – Horvit; saxophone and tape.
• “Reliquary for Rahshaan” – Gutwein; saxophone and tape.
• “Images” – Rabbitt; saxophone and tape.
• “Diary part II” – Diemente; 2 heights and tape.
• “Saxatile” – Jean Claude Risset; soprano and electroacoustic.( Track
18 )

In the Spanish scene, this contribution of works is made up of works dedicated

to young saxophonists, such as Josetxo Silguero.

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 Josetxo Silguero

In the musical panorama of electroacoustic music in Spain, without a doubt, the

most representative is Josetxo Silguero
Gorriti. Professor at the “Jesús Guridi”
Conservatory of Music in Victoria-Gasteiz,
he has taught courses at different
conservatories such as Lalín and Ourense
(Galicia), Buñol (Valencia), Errenteria and
San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa), Superior of
Zaragoza and Centro Superior of
Musikene Music (Basque Country). His
musical repertoire covers a wide field,
symphonic music, chamber music,
soloist, opera, electronic, rock, jazz,
improvised,
sideman25 , in addition to
to be part of the staff of soloists Proyecto Guerrero de Madrid (resident group of
the “Concesos al Límite-Música de Hoy” cycle) and the Euskadi Symphony
Orchestra, also assuming the artistic direction of its group “Ensemble Oiasso
Novis”. He has presented sound projects in Germany, France, England, Italy,
Switzerland, Canada, as well as in the most important national festivals and
cycles such as Ciberart, Festival Enclaves “Experimenta 21” (Torrelavega),
CDMC-Museo Reina Sofía, CGAC-Xornadas de Contemporary Music, CAB
(Burgos), Vostell Malpartida Museum (Cáceres), International Electroacoustic
Music Festival “Punto de Encuentro” (Madrid), Workshop Concerts (Gijón),
COMA Festival (Madrid), BBK Festival of Current Music (Bilbao) , Musical
Fortnight (San Sebastián), Contemporary Music Week (Zaragoza),
Electroacoustic Music Cabinet (Cuenca), University of Salamanca, MUSIKASTE
Festival (Errenteria), SINKRO Festival (Victoria), Club Diario Levante (Valencia),
Music Week Contemporary (Leioa), Matinées Euskadi Symphony Orchestra,

25 Accompanying musician on a jazz recording led by another musician .

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Monday Contemporary Series (Santander), International Musical Series
(Barcelona). In addition to performances, he stimulates the creation and
performs premieres of the first works written for saxophone by Basque
composers (dedicated to him), national and presenting absolute premieres and
first national auditions of François Rossé, Pascal Gaigne, Thierry Allá, Jöel
Merah (France ), Alvin Lucier, Etienne Rolin and Mark Engebretson (USA), José
Loyola (Cuba), Jorge Antunes (Brazil), Mª Eugenia Luc and Juan María Solare
(Argentina), Giacinto Scelsi and Diego dall'Osto (Italy), Christian de Jong
(Holland)...
From his special dedication to electroacoustic music has arisen the premiere of
more than 30 works, in which the saxophone interacts with new computer media
(MAX/MSP), computer systems for sound specialization and video creation
projections. Here I name some of the works that different composers have
dedicated to him:

• “Absent Presences” – Zuriñe Fernández Guerebarrena (1965), for

baritone saxophone and/or live electronics. <October 28, 199726 >.
• “Tiempo de Luces” – Joseba Torre (1969), for tenor and soprano
saxophone, tape and electronics. <October 28, 1997>
• “Besonders” – Maite Aurrekoetxea, for tenor saxophone, marimba, tape
and electronics. <February 24, 1998>.
• “Missing Links” – Emiliano del Cerro (1951), for soprano voice, alto
saxophone, percussion and electroacoustic transformation in real time.
<June 22, 1998>.

• “Mnémophonia” – Pascal Gaigne (1958), for alto saxophone, tape

percussion and electronics. <March 1, 1999>.
• “Quejumbroso Metal” – Emiliano del Cerro (1951), for tenor saxophone,
tape and electronics. <2000>.
• “A spotted snail” – Alfonso García de la Torre, for tenor saxophone, tape
and electronics. <July 5, 2000>.
• “Saltatriz” – David Alarcón (1969), for baritone saxophone, tape and

26 Premiere date of the work.

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 electroacoustics. <December 9, 2000>.
• “Teurigia” – Myriam de Armiño (1976), for baritone saxophone, tape and
electronics. <February 20, 2001)
• “Hire Ansiaren Odota” – Enrique Vázquez (1964), for voice, tenor
saxophone, percussion, tape and electronics. <August 20, 2001>.
• “Tan Fugaz” – Maria Eugenia Luc (1958), for tenor saxophone,
accordion, percussion, tape and electronics. <August 20, 2001>.
• “Transparencies” – Guillermo Lauzurica (1968), for tenor saxophone,
accordion, percussion, tape and electronics. <November 22, 2001>.
“Solo” by Guillermo Lauzurica

(baritone saxophone and electroacoustic device)

This work is dedicated to Josetxo Silguero Gorriti, who premiered it together with
his composer Guillermo Lauzurica and Alfonso García de la Torre, on February
24, 1998 at the Casa del Cordón, within the program of the IV Conference of
Electroacoustic Music of Victoria -Gasteiz.
Guillermo Lauzurica was born in Victoria-Gasteiz. He studied harmony,
counterpoint and composition at the “Jesús Gurudi” Higher Conservatory of
Music with C. Bernaola and A. Lauzurica, piano with P. Squire.
He completes his academic training with various courses and seminars: musical
analysis with J. M. Alberdi and Luís de Pablo, composition with S. Sciarrino at
the University of Alcalá de Henares, V International Seminar on Music and
Computers of the UIMP (Cuenca, 1995), electroacoustics with R. González
Arroyo at the LIEM-CDMC (Madrid, 1995).
He is a member of the Instrumental Group “Jesús Gurudi”, he has made both
instrumental works and installations, being premiered in the II Cycle of Music of
the 20th Century of Victoria-Gasteiz, the VII Exhibition of Electroacoustic Music
of Cuenca, Concert-Inauguration of the Electronics Laboratory Musical of the
Higher Conservatory of Music of Valencia, the Victoria-Gasteiz Electroacoustic
Music Conference (1996/97/98), V Festival of Electroacoustic Music “Punto de
Encentro” (Valencia, 1996), and XII International Festival of Contemporary

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Music of Alicante, IV Conference on Musical Computing and Electroacoustics in
Madrid (1997) and VII Week of Contemporary Music in Laioa (1997).
- Why is everything united by an invisible thread that surrounds us and
traps us, and prevents us from being free in the void full of light? – asked
the thing.
- Because I only dream of the memory of the time when everything was
loneliness – he responded .

CD TRACKS

POSTROMANTICISM

• Track 1 – “Solo de concert pour saxophone Baritone” Op.77 by Jean

Baptiste Singeleé, performed by Claude Delangle – CD. Historic
Saxophone.

• Track 2 – “Fantasie sur un theme original” by Julen Demersseman,

performed by Arno Bornkamp – CD. Adolphe Sax (Revisited).
• Track 3 – “Deuxime solo cavatine pour baritone saxophone” by Julen
Demersseman, performed by Claude Delangle – CD. Historic
Saxophone.

IMPRESSIONISM

• Track 4 – Choral Varié, Op.55 by Vincent D'Indy, performed by Claude

Delangle – CD. A Saxophone for a Lady.
• Track 5 – Légende Op. 66 by Florent Schmitt, performed by Claude
Delangle – CD. A Saxophone for a Lady.

NEOCLASSISISM

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 • Track 6 – “Sonata” for alto saxophone and orchestra by P. Hindemith,
performed by Jean-Marie Londeix – CD. Great Masters of the
Saxophone, Vol. 2.

• Track 7 – “Concerto in Eb” for alto saxophone and orchestra by

Alexander Glazounov, performed by John Harle – CD. Concertos pour
Saxophone.

• Track 8 – “Chamber Concertino” for alto saxophone and 11-instrument

group by Jaques Ibert, performed by Marcel Mule – CD. Le Saxophone
Français.

• Track 9 – “Sonata” for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Paul Creston,

performed by Eugene Rousseau – CD. Eugene Rousseau with Jaromir
Klepac.

• Track 10 – “Bb Quartet” by A. Glazounov, performed by Quatour

Habanera – CD. Havana.

Avant-garde or contemporary music

• Track 11 – “Sonate” by E. Denisov, played by Jean-Marie Londeix – CD.

Great Masters of the Saxophone, Vol. 2.
• Track 12 – “Tree pezzi” by Giacinto Scelsi – CD. Scelsi.
• Track 13 – “Sequenza IXb” by Luciano Berio
• Track 14 – “Chant Premier” by Marcel Mihalovici, performed by Arno
Bornkamp – CD. Hot Sonate .
• Track 15 – “Aksax” – Costin Miereanu, performed by Daniel Kientzy –
CD. L'Art du Saxophone.
• Track 16 – “Un Color” – Luís de Pablo, performed by Daniel Kientzy –
CD. L'Art du Saxophone.

ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC

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 • Track 17 – “Saxstück” by Camille Roy, performed by Daniel Kientzy –
CD. Grame sax.
• Track 18 – “Saxatile” by Jean Claude Risset, performed by Daniel
Kientzy – CD. Sax Upic.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books
• “History of Western Music, 2” Donad J. Groud / Claude V. Palisca (Ed.
Music Alliance).
• “History of the Saxophone” Miguel Asensio Segarra (Ed. Rivera Editors).
• “Adolphe Sax and the manufacture of the Saxophone” Miguel Asensio
Segarra (Ed. Rivera Editors).
• “The Saxophone” Jean-Louis Chautemps / Daniel Kientzy / Jean-Marie
Londeix (Ed. Work).
• “Saxophone” Antonio Salas Pérez (Ed. Master Training).
• “Jean-Marie Londeix – Master of the Modern Saxophone” James C.
Umble (Ed. Roncorp).
• "Hello! Mr. Sax” Jean-Marie Londeix (Ed. Alphonse Leduc)
• “Encyclopedia of music” Frank Onnen (Ed. Booksellers)

Websites
• www.adolphesax.com
• www.revistasculturales.com
• www.josetxosilguero.com
• www.es.wikipedia.org
• www.saxofonlatino.cl
• www.adolphesax.com
• www.presencias.net
• www.musiquecontemporaine.info
• www.saxophone.tk

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 • www.ircam.fr

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