5. Saxophone In Excelsis
The saxophone’s return to the esteem of the concert hall through the scores of Percy Grainger, soloists on ABC airwaves, and two Nordic princes touring the breadth of Australia.
Percy Grainger worked with US concert saxophone pioneer Cecil Leeson at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, in 1937. The pair played saxophone together, and collaborated on this arrangement of Molly on the Shore (edited by Paul Cohen) that was ultimately Grainger’s only work for saxophone and piano.
Percy Grainger, Molly on the Shore (1937)
Grainger wrote extensively for saxophone, and his Lincolnshire Posy for concert band of 1937 reflects the affection he felt for the instrument he had played for many years. The third movement, Rufford Park Poachers (4:29), is prefaced: ‘If you have a soprano saxophonist who can play the solo from bar 19 to bar 46 LOUDLY, piercingly, feelingly and vibratingly, use Version B. If not, this solo may be played on a Flügelhorn (or Trumpet, or Cornet), in which case use Version A. The Bandmaster should be careful to let the band know which version is to be played.’
Percy Grainger, Lincolnshire Posy (1937)
Cache-Cache is here performed by the Garde Républicaine Saxophone Quartet, with Marcel Mule on soprano saxophone. This recording was broadcast on Australian radio in 1937, and transcribed by Australian saxophonists such as Ern Pettifer – an indication of the influence of the French saxophone school on local playing. Mule would lead the return of the Saxophone Class to the Paris Conservatoire in 1942; in Sydney, Clive Amadio would commence a Saxophone Class at the Conservatorium in 1941.
Robert Clérisse, Cache-Cache (1930)
Sigurd Raschèr began playing saxophone in German dance bands, but came to chart a more modern and virtuosic course for the instrument. He toured Australia in 1938, sponsored by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, where his playing both impressed and confounded critics. His remarkable technical facility, especially in the altissimo range, is demonstrated in this 1935 recording.
Jascha Gurewich, Capriccio (1928)
Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera showcased Raschèr’s virtuosic technique across his Australian tour.
Jacques Ibert, Concertino da Camera (1935)
Another mainstay of Raschèr’s repertoire in Australia was Alexander Glazounov’s Concerto of 1934, which Raschèr had obtained ‘under the influence of attacks rather than requests’ on the composer.