History
The contrabass saxophone was part of the original saxophone family as conceived by Adolphe Sax, and is included in his saxophone patent of 1846, as well as in Kastner's concurrently published Methode for saxophone. By 1849, Sax was displaying contrabass through sopranino saxophones at exhibitions. The contrabass' first known orchestral use was in Jules Massenet's operas La Vierge of 1879 and Hérodiade of 1881. Patrick Gilmore's famous American band roster included a contrabass saxophone in 1892, and at least a dozen of these instruments were built by the Evette-Schaeffer company for the US military bands in the early 20th century. Saxophone ensembles were also popular at this time, and the contrabass saxophone was an eye-catching novelty for the groups that were able to obtain one. By the onset of the Great Depression, the saxophone craze had ended, and the contrabass, already rare, all but disappeared from public view.
Read more about this topic: Contrabass Saxophone
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