It is known from shallow elevatormusic, as a roaring solo instrument in pertinent rock music titles or from virtuous jazz soloes: the saxophone. Thereby, it is often forgotten that the instrument was invented long before Charlie Parker and was originally intended to be a classical instrument. The inventor, Belgian Adolphe Sax, had great visions when he developed his new instrument in the 1840s.
In his patent application dated 1846, he described the saxophone as an instrument similar to string instruments, which, however, has more power and intensity than these. The result was a powerful sound, which Maurice Ravel frequently used in his works. Hector Berlioz was also enthused about the new instrument and praised its sound diversity, which may change between very distinct forms of expression.
Besides using it in symphony orchestras, the inventor also thought about using the saxophone as a chamber music instrument. Similar to a string ensemble, the different types and timbres of saxophones should complement each other. Only based on this theoretical idea a friend of Adolphe Sax named Jean-Georg Kastner wrote the first piece for saxophone ensemble named "Saxtuor". Remarkably, that was in the year 1844 when Sax was still working on expanding the saxohone to different types. Despite John Philip Sousa utilizing the saxophone ensemble in his shows, the idea was forgotten after the 1930s.
During its dissemination in military and jazz music, the saxophone was subjected to various constructional changes, which led to a more brilliant sound and thus more assertiveness. Due to these changes, the original concept of the saxophone sound of its inventor Adolphe Sax got more and more forgotten. The members of the Tübinger Saxophon-Ensemble, however, play instruments corresponding to the original construction forms and thus give a good impression of the original sound.
