Search - Joseph Arban, Leon Chic, Jules Auguste Demersseman :: Historic Saxophone

Wonderful collection of early works for the saxophone

Daniel Graser | Wappingers Falls, New York United States | 02/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On his latest release that was actually recorded in 1998, Claude Delangle has chosen to play several early French pieces all written in the 19th century when the saxophone was stirring a lot of excitement in composers all around Europe, for this disc, particularly in France. On this record, he plays soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone. Keeping with the title of the album, Delangle plays on an historic alto saxophone made at the turn of the century (around 1899) to Adolphe Sax's specifications. What amazed me about this is that first of all, he keeps it perfectly in tune, not an easy thing to do, and second of all, he still has that very colorful French tone that we have all come to love about him. For the pieces that are not for alto, he plays on current Selmer instruments. The performances are top notch and played with the style of the time of the compositions, with a little bit of contemporary French stylistic ideas of vibrato, phrasing and tone color. This is definitely worth picking up as Delangle plays the works of Singelee, Demersseman, Savari, Genin, Klose, and Chic masterfully. Highest Recommendation."