There are 3 original Adolphe Sax (Dinant 1814 – Paris 1894) bassoons in the Hichwa-Rachor Database. Adolphe Sax is the son of the important Belgian instrument maker Charles-Joseph Sax (1790-1865). Adolphe Sax is known as the inventor of two families of instruments, the saxophone, and the saxhorn. Sax made very few bassoons and woodwinds in general, including saxophones. According to the Sax inventory of 950 instruments ready for distribution in 1852 (See Adrian von Steiger, “Sax figures”, p. 140.), only 31 instruments are saxophones and 24 are clarinets. The three Adolphe Sax bassoons listed below might be the only bassoons he made after moving to Paris in 1842.
Adolphe Sax Literature
Haine, Malou. Adolphe Sax, sa vie, son œuvre, ses instruments de musique. Université de Bruxelles, 1980.
Haine, Malou & Meeùs. Dictionnaire des Facteurs d’Instruments de Musique en Wallonie et à Bruxelles du 9e Siècle à nos jours. Pierre Mardaga, Bruxelles, 1986.
Haine, Malou. Les facteurs d’instruments de musique à Paris au 19e siècle. Université de Bruxelles, 1984.
Jansen, Will. The Bassoon: Its History, Construction, Makers, Players and Music. Frits Knuf, 1978 Vol. 1, p. 472, 473.
Keyser, Ignace & Haine, Malou. “Le musée instrumental d’un artiste inventeur: la collection privée d’Adolphe Sax”, in Adolphe Sax, his influence and legacy: a bicentenary conference. Revue Belge de Musicologie, Vol. LXX (2016), p. 154.
Londeix, Jean-Marie. Pour une historie du saxophone et des saxophonistes, Livre 1 (1814 à 1899) Adolphe Sax. Delatour France, 2017.
Lunte, Frank & Müller-Elschner. Saxophone: Un instrument et son inventeur.
Nicolai, 2014.
Pierre, Constant. Les Facteurs D’Instruments de Musique. 1893.
Rorive, Jean-Pierre. Adolphe Sax. Gerard Klopp, 2014, pp.105.
Steiger, von Adrian, “Sax figures: can we deduce details of Adolphe Sax’s instrument production from the sources?” In Revue Belge de Musicologie, Adolphe Sax, his influence and legacy: a bicentenary conference. Vol. LXX (2016).
Tiffou, Augustin. Le bassoon en France au XIXe siècle: Facture, théorie et répertoire. L’Harmattan, 2010.
Waterhouse, William. The New Langwill Index. Tony Bingham, 1993.
Sax, Adolphe, 21 key bassoon; SaxA1-O-BrusMIM2003.033
SaxA1-O-BrusMIM2003.033 General Information
SaxA1-O-BrusMIM2003.033 Tone Hole Dimensions
SaxA1-O-BrusMIM2003.033 Short Format Data Spreadsheet
SaxA1-O-BrusMIM2003.033 Photos
Sax, Adolphe, 23 key bassoon; SaxA2-O-ParisE.1465
SaxA2-O-ParisE.1465 General Information
SaxA2-O-ParisE.1465 Tone Hole Dimensions
Sax, Adolphe, 17 key bassoon; SaxA3-O-Sigal2002.56
SaxA3-O-Sigal2002.56 General Information