The saxhorn is a family of valved

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

s that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by

Adolphe Sax Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax (; 6 November 1814 – 4 February 1894) was a Belgian inventor and musician who invented the saxophone in the early 1840s, patenting it in 1846. He also invented the saxotromba, saxhorn and saxtuba. He played the f ...

, who is also known for creating the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

family. The sound of the saxhorn has a characteristic mellow tone quality and blends well with other brass.

The saxhorn family

The saxhorns form a family of seven

brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin ...

(although at one point ten different sizes seem to have existed). Designed for band use, they are pitched alternately in E and B, like the

group. Modern saxhorns still manufactured and in use: *B soprano saxhorn:

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

*E alto/tenor saxhorn: alto/tenor horn *B baritone saxhorn:

baritone horn The baritone horn, or sometimes just called baritone, is a low-pitched brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a piston-val ...

*The B bass, E bass, and B contrabass saxhorns are basically the same as the modern

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...

, E bass

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

, and BB contrabass tuba, respectively. Historically, much confusion exists as to the nomenclature of the various instruments in different languages. The following table lists the members of the saxhorn family as described in the orchestration texts of Hector Berlioz and

Cecil Forsyth Cecil Forsyth (30 November 1870, in Greenwich – 7 December 1941, New York City) was an English composer and musicologist.Colles, H.C. 'Cecil Forsyth' in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001) He studied at the University of Edinburgh and at the Royal ...

, the J. Howard Foote catalog of 1893, and modern names. The modern instrument names continue to exhibit inconsistency, denoted by a "/" between the two names in use. In the table "Pitch" means the concert pitch of notational Middle C on each instrument (2nd

partial Partial may refer to: Mathematics * Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial ...

, no valves depressed) in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical pitch by combining a musical note name (with accidental if needed) and a number ide ...

. This list is not exhaustive of historic nomenclature for the saxhorns, for which there may exist no comprehensive and authoritative source.

Ranges of individual members

The saxhorn is based on the same three-valve system as most other valved brass instruments. Each member of the family is named after the root note produced by the second

with no valves actuated. Each member nominally possesses or possessed the typical three-valve brass range from the note one tritone below that root note (second partial, all valves actuated) to the note produced by eighth partial with no valves actuated, i.e., the note two octaves above the root note. All the modern members of the family are transposing instruments written in the treble clef with the root note produced by the second

with no valves actuated being written as middle C, though the

often plays bass clef parts, especially in concert band music and when playing parts written for the trombone.

History

Developed during the mid-to-late 1830s, the saxhorn family was patented in Paris in 1845 by

. During the 19th century, the debate as to whether the saxhorn family was truly new, or rather a development of previously existing instruments, was the subject of prolonged lawsuits. Throughout the mid-1850s, Sax continued to experiment with the instrument's valve pattern. The Trojan March (''Marche Troyenne'') of the Berlioz opera ''

Les Troyens ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les Tro ...

'' (185658) features an on-stage band which includes a family of saxhorns. The Royal Hunt and Storm (''Chasse Royale'') from the same opera uses them orchestrally. Sir

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

wanted to use them in his 2003 recording, but was unable to borrow them from major

conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

s; he was eventually put in touch with a private collector who loaned him a set. Saxhorns were popularized by the distinguished

Distin The Distin family was an ensemble of British musicians in the 19th century who performed on brass instruments, and from 1845 promoted the saxhorn. One of them, Henry Distin, later became a noted brass instrument manufacturer in the United Kingdom ...

Quintet, who toured Europe during the mid-19th century. This family of musicians, publishers and instrument manufacturers had a significant impact on the growth of the brass band movement in Britain during the mid- to late-19th century. The saxhorn was the most common brass instrument in

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

bands. The over-the-shoulder variety of the instrument was used, as the backward-pointing bell of the instrument allowed troops marching behind the band to hear the music. Contemporary works featuring this instrument are Désiré Dondeyne's ''Tubissimo'' for bass tuba or saxhorn and piano (1983),

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

's ''

Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum ''Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum'' (And I await the resurrection of the dead) is a work for wind orchestra by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1964 and first performed the following year. It is composed in five movements. Genesis Messiaen was ...

'' (1964), and

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

's " March of the Soviet Militia" (1970).

References

J. Howard Foote catalog, 1893
* * *

Discography

* ''Saxhorn et piano'' - Hybrid'Music Label - October 2008 * David Maillot, saxhorn - Géraldine Dutroncy, piano – Works by

Eugène Bozza Eugène Joseph Bozza (4 April 1905 – 28 September 1991)Grove Music Online: "Bozza, Eugène"; accessed 20 September 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/03791. was a French composer and violinist. He was one of t ...

Marcel Bitsch Marcel Bitsch (December 29, 1921, Paris – September 21, 2011, Toulouse) was a French composer, teacher and analyst. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and also was professor of counterpoint there. Career In 1939, Marcel Bitsch entered t ...

Jacques Castérède Jacques Castérède (10 April 1926 – 6 April 2014)Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine">Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine (CDMC) biographical pagebr>Musique Contemporaine files on CastérèdeAlain Bernaud,

Henri Tomasi Henri Tomasi (; 17 August 1901 – 13 January 1971) was a French classical composer and conductor. He was noted for compositions such as ''In Praise of Folly'', ''Nuclear Era'' and ''The Silence of the Sea''. Early years Henri Tomasi was born ...

Claude Pascal Claude Pascal (Paris, February 19, 1921 – Paris, February 28, 2017) was a French composer.Marc Honegger, ''Dictionnaire de la musique: Tome 2, Les Hommes et leurs œuvres. L-Z.'' ed. Bordas 1979, p. 834. () After studying at the Conservatoire ...

Gérard Devos Gérard Devos (19 August 1903, Sint-Andries – 5 January 1972, Tielt) was a Belgian football striker. Career Devos started playing football with Cercle Brugge. He made his debut in a 5–1 loss against Standard Liège on 23 October 1921. He ...

, and

Roger Boutry Roger Jean Boutry (27 February 1932 – 7 September 2019) was a French composer and conductor. Biography Born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, he resided in Paris. A virtuoso pianist, renowned and internationally recognized conductor, in ...

. * 14 Volumes of saxhorn band are available featurin
The First Brigade Band

External links