Hero herald of the new saxophone, Daniel
Kientzy is the only saxophonist who regularly plays all seven members of
that family, from the minnow sopranino to the Behemoth contrabass. Born
in Perigueux, France in 1951, Kientzy was a professional musician from the
age of 16, playing the bass guitar in various rock and dance groups.
He studied the saxophone at the Conservatory of Limoges and later of Paris,
where he won a unanimously awarded first prize for chamber music. Ever keen
to master new sonorities, Kientzy also learned the double bass (and for
a while was in the orchestra of Limoges Opera) and even the crumhorn, recorder,
cornamusen and viola de gamba, for he also had a particular interest in
early music, founding and playing in the ensemble Musica Ficta, with which
he made a record, produced by Arion. Since the late sixties he has devoted
himself exclusively to the saxophones, undertaking extensive research into
the technical and expressive properties of all seven members of the family,
inventing and perfecting many different modes of play. The fruits of this
work can be seen in his treatise, Multiple sounds for the saxophones
(Salabert, 1982) and especially his thesis Saxologie for which was
awarded a doctorate by the University of Paris VIII. By inspiring and collaborating
with composers all over the world, Daniel Kientzy has brought into being
a whole new repertory of about 200 works, most of which take advantage of
his talent for the visual, even theatrical dimension of music.
THE ART OF THE SAXOPHONE is the practical, didactic part of the doctoral
thesis of Daniel Kientzy: Saxologie, University Paris VIII 1990, of which
this is a summary:
SAXOLOGY proposes a complete inventory, on the seven saxophones, of all the sounds and playing techniques [ (virtual) organic, technical, acoustic, expressive and musical tool], notables and reproductibles in their entirety by one interpreter. It invents and baptises new playing techniques and proposes an appropriate notation.
"SAXOLOGIE" analyses:
-about fifty envelope modes
-about thirty sound sustaining techniques
-about thirty other playing techniques and "special effects"
It deals with the "whys" and "wherefores" of acoustics.
It reveals the "ins" and "outs" of instrumental techniques.
It describes their application:
-practical: pitch fields, dynamics, velocity
-esthetical: acoustic and expressive behaviour
"SAXOLOGIE" also lists vertical and horizontal combinations. In order to clarify the descriptions, a detailed exploration of the acoustic functioning of the saxophone introduces the work.
"SAXOLOGIE" lays down the technical foundations for New/Complete/Authentic Virtuosity.
Although the present work is not a modern saxophone method (such a work has still to be written), THE ART OF THE SAXOPHONE nonetheless deals with no less than 100 playing techniques for this little known and badly known instrument.
If one reflects that these hundred playing techniques can be combined, horizontally and vertically, sometimes on several levels, one can easily imagine the vast potential of acoustic expression proposed in this small volume.
A more detailed and analytical description of these playing techniques is to be found in the main work, SAXOLOGIE (Salabert 1993).
Composers especially are advised to refer to it for a more comprehensive guide to the application of there techniques (combinations, pitch fields, dynamics, velocity...).
Lastly- each of the seven saxophones in presented solo on a single CD, comprising an improvisation and six tittres- to unrecorded works (dedicated to Daniel Kientzy) which form the starting point of THE ART OF THE SAXOPHONE.
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