The mezzo-soprano saxophone, sometimes called the F alto saxophone, is an instrument in the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

family. It is in the key of F, pitched two half steps above the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

in E♭ . Its size and the sound are similar to the E alto, although the upper register sounds more like a B

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. Very few mezzo-sopranos exist—they were only produced in 1928 and 1929 by the C.G. Conn company. They were not popular and did not sell widely, as their production coincided with the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Harsh economic conditions forced Conn to reduce the range of saxophones they produced to the most popular models. Conn used the surplus stock of mezzo-sopranos to teach instrument repair in Conn's Elkhart workshops. Typically, a Conn instructor would deliberately damage the mezzo-sopranos (e.g. dropping them onto a concrete floor) and the students would then be tasked with repairing them. The repeated wear and tear of these actions eventually destroyed the saxophones. MIM Conn-O-Sax

Conn also developed the ''Conn-O-Sax'' in F but built straight, with a slightly curved neck, spherical liebesfuss-style bell, and extra keys for low A and up to high G, intended to imitate the form, range and

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

of the

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

. It was produced only in small numbers 1929–1930 and is highly sought after by collectors. The mezzo-soprano is the only saxophone pitched in F that has ever been built, apart from prototypes of an F

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. Although

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's 1928 orchestral work ''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music. Composition T ...

'' calls for a

sopranino saxophone The sopranino saxophone is the second-smallest member of the saxophone family. It is tuned in the key of E♭, and sounds an octave higher than the alto saxophone. A sopranino in F was also described in Adolphe Sax's patent, an octave above an F ...

in F, it is unlikely the instrument ever existed; the part is usually performed on an E♭ sopranino or B♭ soprano. Notable players of the mezzo-soprano saxophone include

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

, James Carter, Vinny Golia, Jon Irabagon, and Jay Easton. More recently, a mezzo-soprano in the key of G has been produced by Danish woodwind technician Peter Jessen, most notably played by Benjamin Koppel and Joe Lovano. Their collaboration can be heard on "The Mezzo Sax Encounter" (vinyl and CD, 2016) where Koppel and Lovano are accompanied by pianist

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951, and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...

, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Johnathan Blake. This instrument is more in the timbral quality of the B soprano saxophone.

In classical music

It was asked for by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

in his '' Sinfonia Domestica'' written in 1903–1904, which includes parts for four saxophones in the music, including an alto saxophone in F.

References

External links

Jay C. Easton – modern & unusual woodwinds
Jay Easton's alto and mezzo-soprano page, with photographs and sound clips. Saxophones F instruments {{SingleReed-instrument-stub