High Register Excerpts Of Selected Alto Saxophone Concerti

86 Pages·2015·18.41 MB·English

by  Adam Douglas Muller

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2012
High Register Excerpts of Selected Alto
Saxophone Concerti: A Critical Anthology
Adam D. Muller
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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

HIGH REGISTER EXCERPTS OF SELECTED ALTO SAXOPHONE CONCERTI:

A CRITICAL ANTHOLOGY

By

ADAM D. MULLER

A treatise submitted to the
College of Music
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Music

Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester, 2012

Copyright © 2012
Adam D. Muller
All Rights Reserved
Adam Muller defended this treatise on 18 May 2012.

The members of the supervisory committee were:

Patrick Meighan
Professor Directing Treatise

Seth Beckman
University Representative

Eric Ohlsson
Committee Member

John Parks
Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members,
and certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university
requirements.

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To my wife, Raquel.
Your friendship and love have allowed me to see this project through to completion.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project was made possible by the commitment and time of many individuals:
Patrick Meighan for his unwavering enthusiasm for the saxophone and his students,
Carina Raschèr for her extraordinary generosity and trust given to me in granting access
to Sigurd Raschèr’s archives, Barbara Korn for her humor and wit, Jessica Marisol for
providing access to the Frank Erickson Archives at Old Dominion University, and the
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band for supporting my professional artistic
and academic endeavors while on active military duty.
Great thanks to Patrick Meighan, Eric Ohlsson, John Parks, and Seth Beckman for
serving on my committee, and Lauren Smith and Meghan McCaskill for their assistance
while I lived thousands of miles away from The Florida State University College of
Music.
I also extend profound gratitude to friends and family who have assisted along the
way; this project would not have been possible without them: João Paulo Figueirôa and
Eurídice Alvarez for their encouragement, Jordan Siverd for his attention to detail, the
Kelly Quartet for its pursuit of musical excellence, my parents Douglas and Dianne and
brother Noah for their love and patience during many late nights of practice, Patti
McKinney for her unwavering support, Meggan Muller for her impeccable translation
skills, and my wife Raquel and daughter Juliana for their love of music and life.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ………………………………………………………vi

LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………….viii

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………..ix

INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………..1

EDITORIAL NOTES……………………………………………………………………..9

CHAPTER 1 : LARSSON, LARS-ERIK (1934) ……………..………………………...10

CHAPTER 2 : IBERT, JACQUES (1935) ……………………………………………...18

CHAPTER 3 : MARTIN, FRANK (1938) ……………………………………………...25

CHAPTER 4 : BRANT, HENRY (1942) ……………………………………………….30

CHAPTER 5 : WIRTH, CARL ANTON (1956) ………………………………………..35

CHAPTER 6 : DAHL, INGOLF (1957/1959)……….……………………………...…...46

CHAPTER 7 : KOCH, ERLAND VON (1958) …………………………………...........53

CHAPTER 8 : ERICKSON, FRANK (1959) …………………………………………...59

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………..67

APPENDIX A : PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES FOR HIGH REGISTER STUDY…..69

APPENDIX B : ADDITIONAL RESOURCES……………………...………………….70

APPENDIX C : SCORES RELATED TO PROJECT VIA EXCLUSION……………...71

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………….72

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ……………………………………………………………76

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LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Example 1.1. Lars-Erik Larsson, Konsert, Movement 1, mm. 70-80…………………...13
Example 1.2. Larsson, Movement 1, mm. 113-120…………………………………..…13
Example 1.3. Larsson, Movement 1, mm.121-129……………………………………...14
Example 1.4. Larsson, Movement 1, mm.144-156……………………………………...14
Example 1.5. Larsson, Movement 1, cadenza…………………………………………..15
Example 1.6. Larsson, Movement 2, mm. 31-38………………………………………..15
Example 1.7. Larsson, Movement 2, mm. 81-85………………………………………..16
Example 1.8. Larsson, Movement 3, mm. 65-70………………………………………..16
Example 1.9. Larsson, Movement 3, cadenza…………………………………………..17
Example 2.1. Jacques Ibert, Concertino da Camera, Movement 1, mm. 49-52………...22
Example 2.2. Ibert, Movement 1, mm. 114-119………………………………………...23
Example 2.3. Ibert, Movement 2, mm. 24-32…………………………………………...23
Example 2.4. Ibert, Movement 3, cadenza………………………………………………24
Example 3.1. Frank Martin, Ballade, mm. 46-53……………………………………….28
Example 3.2. Martin, mm. 364-373……………………………………………………..28
Example 3.3. Martin, mm. 385-391……………………………………………………..29
Example 4.1. Henry Brant, Concerto, Movement 1, mm. 233-238……………………..33
Example 4.2. Brant, Movement 3, mm. 148-164………………………………………..34
Example 4.3. Brant, Movement 3, mm. 383-390………………………………………..34
Example 5.1. Carl Anton Wirth, Concerto, Movement 1, mm. 11-17………………….41
Example 5.2. Wirth, Movement 1, mm. 92-97………………………………………….41
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Example 5.3. Wirth, Movement 1, mm. 105-119……………………………………….42
Example 5.4. Wirth, Movement 1, mm. 153-157……………………………………….42
Example 5.5. Wirth, Movement 1, mm. 169-173……………………………………….43
Example 5.6. Wirth, Movement 1, mm. 177-187……………………………………….43
Example 5.7. Wirth, Movement 2, mm. 194-197……………………………………….44
Example 5.8. Wirth, Movement 3, mm. 194-198……………………………………….45
Example 5.9. Wirth, Movement 3, mm. 273-288……………………………………….45
Example 6.1. Ingolf Dahl, Concerto, Movement 2, mm. 13-16………………………...50
Example 6.2. Dahl, Movement 2, mm. 39-46…………………………………………...51
Example 6.3. Dahl, Movement 2, mm. 54-60…………………………………………...52
Example 6.4. Dahl, Movement 3, cadenza……………………………………………...52
Example 7.1. Erland von Koch, Concerto, Movement 1, mm. 123-128………………..54
Example 7.2. Koch, Movement 1, mm. 209-216………………………………………..55
Example 7.3. Koch, Movement 1, cadenza……………………………………………..55
Example 7.4. Koch, Movement 1, cadenza……………………………………………..56
Example 7.5. Koch, Movement 2, mm. 56-62…………………………………………..57
Example 7.6. Koch, Movement 3, mm. 29-32…………………………………………..57
Example 7.7. Koch, Movement 3, mm. 138-142………………………………………..57
Example 7.8. Koch, Movement 3, mm. 197-207………………………………………..58
Example 8.1. Frank Erickson, Concerto, mm. 118-122……………….………………..65
Example 8.2. Erickson, mm. 266-273…………………………………………………...65
Example 8.3. Erickson, mm. 298-305………….…...…………….……………..………66
Example 8.4. Erickson, cadenza, mm. 356-357…………………………………………66
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LIST OF FIGURES

(“RA” denotes a source located in the Raschèr Archives)

Figure 0.1. Sigurd Raschèr, unpublished four-octave fingering chart, RA…………...….2
Figure 0.2. Raschèr, published four-octave fingering chart, Top-Tones, p. 19…..............3
Figure 0.3. Raschèr, Harmonics on the Saxophone, cover page, RA…………………….4
Figure 0.4. Raschèr, Harmonics on the Saxophone, page 1, RA…………………………5
Figure 0.5. Raschèr, Harmonics on the Saxophone, page 2, RA…………………………6
Figure 1.1. Lars-Erik Larsson, undated photo, RA……………………………………...10
Figure 1.2. Larsson, Konsert world premiere advertisement, RA………………….…...12
Figure 2.1. Jacques Ibert, undated photo, RA………………...........................................18
Figure 2.2. Ibert, Concertino world premiere program (first movement only), RA…….20
Figure 2.3. Ibert, Concertino world premiere program (complete work), RA…….........21
Figure 3.1. Frank Martin, undated photo, RA…………………………………………...25
Figure 4.1. Henry Brant, undated photo, American Music…20th Century, Gann, p. 97...30

Figure 5.1. Carl Anton Wirth, undated photo, RA………………………………............35
Figure 5.2. Wirth, Rochester Times-Union newspaper clipping, RA…………………...37
Figure 5.3. Wirth, Chattanooga News-Free Press newspaper clipping, RA…………….39
Figure 5.4. Wirth, Idlewood Concerto world premiere program, RA…………………..40
Figure 6.1. Ingolf Dahl, undated photo, AllMusic Guide………..……………………...46
Figure 6.2. Ingolf Dahl, Concerto world premiere program, RA……………………….47
Figure 7.1. Erland von Koch, photo from Nordic Sounds, RA………………………….53
Figure 8.1. Frank Erickson, undated photo, Frank Erickson Papers…………………….59
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ABSTRACT

Saxophonists aspiring to perform significant classical repertoire will quickly
discover the challenges of high register passages in the third and fourth registers. Many
of the early saxophone concerti, namely those composed between 1930-1960, are the
foundation of the saxophone’s solo repertoire, and have guided composers and
performers alike to explore the capabilities of the instrument in this regard.1 All
saxophonists face the great task of representing these works with the artistic integrity
their composers intended and can therefore benefit from an anthology that contains
selected high register passages in their correct context, unaltered by unorthodox
performance practice, subjective reasoning, or publication error.
This treatise examines high register passages from the alto saxophone concerti of
Lars-Erik Larsson, Jacques Ibert, Frank Martin, Henry Brant, Carl Anton Wirth, Ingolf
Dahl, Erland von Koch, and Frank Erickson. Historical and analytical facts regarding
each composer and work are given, and the included concerti are taken from the most
current published editions available.

1There are a number of works for saxophone written prior to or during this period, including
pieces by Bumcke, d’Indy, Schmitt, and Debussy, but none that took full advantage of the saxophone’s
technical and musical potential. It was only after Raschèr demonstrated the saxophone’s four-octave range
to composers that the instrument’s high register capabilities were employed in classical saxophone
literature.
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