The soprillo, also known as the piccolo saxophone or rarely sopranissimo saxophone, is the highest pitched and smallest saxophone. The soprillo was developed as a piccolo extension to the saxophone family in the late 1990s by German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim, although a working prototype sopranissimo of the same pitch was made in 1960 in compact curved form. The soprillo is pitched in B♭, one octave above the soprano saxophone, and half its length at 33 centimetres (13in) including the mouthpiece.
Adolphe Sax's 1846 patent for the saxophone specified a family of saxophones in several sizes and pitches, ranging from the giant subcontrabass in B♭ to the sopranino in E♭. The concept of another size of saxophone, even smaller and higher than the sopranino, was first realized in 1960 as a prototype sopranissimo saxophone, in B♭ a fifth higher than the sopranino. Hand-made in curved form by Brussels-based maker Robert van Linthout, it measured barely 20 centimetres (7.9in) long.[2]
In the late 1990s, German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim created a Piccolo-Saxophon (lit.'piccolo saxophone'), also pitched in B♭, in a longer straight form which he called the soprillo.[1]
The soprillo is pitched in B♭ and is 33cm (13in) long with the mouthpiece attached. Compared to a soprano saxophone, the soprillo is pitched one octave higher and is half its length.[3] Constructing such a small saxophone presents several challenges. Most saxophones have keys for high F and F♯, but the soprillo only has keywork to high E♭. The small size of the soprillo means the upper octave key forms part of the mouthpiece.[4]
The soprillo is difficult to play, especially in the high register, due to the very small size of both the mouthpiece and the reed which requires a strong embouchure. The Eppelsheim soprillo is the only piccolo-sized saxophone manufactured.[1] They are expensive compared to other small saxophones, since due to very limited demand they are only built to order.[5]
Performance and repertoire
There is very little music written explicitly for the soprillo given its short history and extremely high pitch. British saxophonist Nigel Wood wrote and commissioned several solo soprillo works, performing and recording them for his 2008 CD, Soprillogy.[6] Saxophonists Vinny Golia, Jay C. Easton and Attilio Berni also perform and record on soprillo.[7]
References
1 2 3 "Soprillo". Munich: Benedikt Eppelsheim Wind Instruments. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023. B♭-Piccolo-Saxophon
↑ Cohen, Paul (September 2000). "Redefining the saxophone, Soprillo and Tubax: new saxophones for a new millennium". Saxophone Journal. 25 (1). Needham: Dorn Publications: 8–10. ISSN0276-4768.
↑ Wood, Nigel. "The Soprillo". Nigel Wood Music. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
↑ "Interview mit Benedikt Eppelsheim". Saxophonforum: Die deutschsprachige Saxophoncommunity (in German). 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
