Klarinet Archive - Posting 000090.txt from 1994/10

From: Timothy Tikker <tjt@-----.ORG>
Subj: Re: Manzello, Stritch, Sarrusophone
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 12:18:29 -0400

On Mon, 10 Oct 1994, Lew Bowling wrote:

> On the sarrusophone--
> Back in the late 60s I was the band director in Poplar, Montana, and of all
> things we had a bass sarrusophone. I have no idea where it came from or how
> it ended up in northeast Montana, but we used it on 2nd and contra bassoon
> parts. It used a single reed mouthpiece and we had a saxophonist that
> doubled on it. Sorry we didn't make any recordings!
>
> Lew Bowling
>

Wow!

If you ever find out that that school wants to sell that sarrusophone,
but sure to let me know right away!!

Do you remember if it was really a B-flat bass (concert pitch range from
low A-flat, written B-flat) or an E-flat contrabass (c.p.r.f. low D-flat,
written B-flat) - or even a C contrabass? As i understand it, the E-flat
contrabass by Conn was the only sarrusophone ever manufactured in the US
- otherwise, it would've probably been a French instrument.