Description
Jules Demersseman was born on January 9, 1833 in Hondschoote, a small town in the north of France
now near the border of Belgium. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1844 in the class of Jean-Louis
Tulou and won a first prize in flute in 1845. Demersseman had a career as a pedogogue and soloist, often
performing his own compositions. A close friend of Adolphe Sax, he wrote some of the first works ever
written for the saxophone, as well as for the saxhorn and for Sax‘s valved trombone, most of which were
published by Sax himself.. Demersseman died in Paris on December 1, 1866 at the age of 33.
Two versions of this work were published by the Adolphe Sax puublishing company: a version for voice and
organ and a version for voice with Alto Saxophone, Sax Valved Trombone and Bass Saxhorn, an interesting combination
which is perhaps not as easy to find as it was in Sax's showroom, where the piece was likely performed to show the qualities
of Sax's instruments. These versions are also published by Musik Fabrik in seperate editions.
This current version was arranged using the first edition of the trio version as its source, and the clarinet and voice parts remain
essentially as in the original, with some editorial dynamic changes. The two part texture of the remaining voices has been augmented
to allow for a fuller sound. The endings of several phrases have been extended to provide a more logical musical development