Subcontrabass saxophone

Short description: Largest low pitched instrument in the saxophone family

Template:Infobox saxophone

The subcontrabass saxophone is the largest of the family of saxophones that Adolphe Sax described in his 1846 patent. In the patent paperwork he called it the saxophone bourdon, named after the very low-pitched 32′ bourdon pedal stop on large pipe organs. Sax planned to build one, but did not; the first playable subcontrabass saxophone was built in 2010. It is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭ one octave below the bass saxophone, two octaves below the tenor, and three octaves and a major second below its written pitch.[1]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Repertoire
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 4.1 Bibliography
* 5 External links

## History

Although described in Adolphe Sax's patent in 1846, a practical, playable subcontrabass saxophone did not exist until the 21st century.[2] An oversized saxophone that might have qualified was built as a prop circa 1965; it could produce tones, but its non-functional keywork required assistants to manually open and close the pads, and it was reportedly incapable of playing a simple scale.[3]

Compact subcontrabass saxophone by J'Élle Stainer at the Musical Instrument Museum, Brussels

The tubax was developed in two sizes in 1999 by German instrument manufacturer Benedikt Eppelsheim, the lower of which, pitched in B♭, he describes as a "subcontrabass saxophone".[4] This instrument provides the same pitch range as the saxophone bourdon would have, while the smaller tubax in E♭ covers the range of the contrabass saxophone. Compared to a regular saxophone of the same pitch, a tubax has a narrower bore and uses a smaller reed.[5]

In the 2000s, contrabass and subcontrabass saxophones became popular in church orchestras in Brazil, and are made by Brazilian instrument manufacturers J'Élle Stainer and Galassine. J'Élle Stainer produced a working compact subcontrabass saxophone in 2010, which was shown that year at Expomusic.[1][6] In September 2012, Eppelsheim built the first full-size subcontrabass saxophone in B♭ (distinct from his B♭ tubax).[7] In July 2013, J'Élle Stainer completed a full-size subcontrabass saxophone.[8][9] It stands 2.74 metres (9 ft 0 in) high and weighs 28.6 kilograms (63 lb).[10] In Brazil, at least one octocontrabass saxophone, built in E♭ an octave below the contrabass, has been made.[11][12][citation needed]

## Repertoire

There is no historical classical music or jazz repertoire specifically scored for a subcontrabass saxophone, since playable instruments have only existed since 2010. Two works first performed in 2022, Slovenian composer Igor Krivokapič's Symphony No. 5 and Colores by Belgian composer Jan Van der Roost, both feature the instrument.[13] Low-pitched saxophones in general have become popular in Brazil, particularly in the large church orchestras of the Christian Congregation in Brazil that accompany hymns.

## See also

* Tubax

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Berni, Attilio (21 February 2013). "J'Elle Stainer Double Bb Sub-contrabass Saxophone". saxophone.org. https://www.saxophone.org/resources/guestArticle/view/article/15.
2. ↑ Cottrell 2012, p. 53.
3. ↑ Green, Grant D. (2002). "Subcontrabass Saxophones (?)". http://www.contrabass.com/pages/subsax.html.
4. ↑ "Tubax (B♭)". Benedikt Eppelsheim Wind Instruments. https://www.eppelsheim.com/en/instruments/tubax-bb/.
5. ↑ Cohen, Paul (September 2000). "Redefining the saxophone, Soprillo and Tubax: new saxophones for a new millennium". Saxophone Journal (Needham, MA: Dorn Publications) 25 (1): 8–10. ISSN 0276-4768.
6. ↑ "Compact Subcontrabass". https://www.jellestainer.com/product-page/compact-subcontrabass.
7. ↑ "Custom made". Benedikt Eppelsheim Wind Instruments. https://www.eppelsheim.com/en/instruments/custom/.
8. ↑ "GWR Subcontrabass". https://www.jellestainer.com/product-page/gwr-subcontrabass.
9. ↑ Berni, Attilio (saxophone); Romeo, Alfredo (drums); Antinozzi, Christian (bass); Crispolti, Alessandro (piano) (27 January 2021) [recorded 18 October 2020]. Sub contrabbasso J'Elle Stainer Eppelsheim soprillo (video). Maccarese, Italy: Museo del Saxofono. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022 - via YouTube.
10. ↑ "Largest saxophone - playable by one person". Guinness World Records. 3 August 2013. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/110941-largest-saxophone-playable-by-one-person.
11. ↑ Valadares, Bruno (28 May 2024). "OctaContraBaixo - Ensaio local em Jordanópolis, SBC, SP". https://www.instagram.com/p/C7evrLIRqwq/.
12. ↑ Salles, Gustavo (18 January 2024). Sax Octa Contra Baixo tocado na comunhão (video clip). Archived from the original on 12 April 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025 - via YouTube.
13. ↑ "7 Trumpets of the Apocalypse". Cankarjev dom. 13 September 2022. https://www.cd-cc.si/en/culture/music/7-trumpets-apocalypse.

### Bibliography

* Cottrell, Stephen (2012) , Wikidata Q113952716

## External links

* Attilio Berni in Back Home Again Indiana (YouTube) solos on the subcontabass and soprillo (Saxophone Museum, Maccarese, 2020)
* MP3 sound recording of the first movement of "Duet for Basses" by Walter Hartley, played as a B♭ Tubax duet (one instrument, overdubbed), performed by Jay C. Easton

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