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Re: pictures

Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2006-04-19 13:21

FYI:
I received a note from a prominent saxophone player and teacher here in NYC on the subject:
"I have only seen it in a reduction for piano and saxophone that Larry Teal published years ago in a compilation book of sax solos. However, while Ravel was/is a brilliant orchestrator, his knowledge of the saxophone was not extensive. I have a video tape interview of Marcel Mule talking about the Bolero solo and Ravel's desire to have the top saxophone part played on "F" sopranino. As Mule stated (and he was great!), there is no such animal. Hence, Mule played it on soprano with Ravel conducting and Ravel didn't even blink. Apparently, he thought of the saxophone family as being akin to the French Horn; hence "F" sopranino. All that is to say that he probably felt it was similar to a clarinet player making a gliss. The C-F gliss is not easy, sounds bad, and shouldn't be done. When I studied this with Joe Allard, he told me what he did was play the final "F" much louder than the preceding "C", so as to make the appearance of something in between existing (sounds like "Do-ah"), and then vibrating immediately on the "F", decrescendo to N.V,. and fade out with just the sound of air going through the horn. He said when he did this with the NY Philharmonic, he received a lot of rustling feet approval."

JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist

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pictures new

jez

2006-03-02 08:50