Couesnon système Dupaquier Low G/Altissmo G C tenor saxophone

pete

pete

Brassica Oleracea
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Linky.

487092_orig.jpg

After a very brief Google search, I can tell you that DuPaquier was a musician in la Garde républicaine. I also came across an auction catalog that had this horn listed. Looks like it was 1100 Euros ....
 
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Yup. I thought that feature was impressive, too, Helen. It's somewhat surprising that the horn has all that keywork and it doesn't have the automatic octave key. I think this is the only split-bell key low A horn, too.

From what I know of Couesnon serial number schemes, up until the 19-teens, they used the number in a grenade fruit stamped on the bell to indicate the date made. Without checking, I think Couesnon reformed in 1935. Late teens or early twenties? I'd also want to assume that the horn was created while M. DuPaquier was alive, so that'd nail down the date even better.

I don't know if this is a one-off factory custom. A couple things I read suggested that this might be an offshoot of the research and effort put into the Georgeophone -- that's the Eb bari that looked like an ophicleide.
 
Hey Pete, counting the number of keys on the lower body, bow and bell of that saxophone and seeing at least three extra keys (below LH thumb rest and RH pinky), I'd say that what you have in those photos is a low G saxophone. :-O
 
That's a possibility. I really didn't count, because I was needing to run. I just thought, "Oooh. Cool horn. Low A." However, I'd *think* the bell would need to be longer for a G. I've seen a few baris modified with a low G and those have very long bells. The bell on this one is just slightly higher than the G# key. 'Course, I'm used to seeing that on a bari, which has extra curves that a C tenor does not.
 
Take a look at where the right hand stack keys are relative to the end of the body. There are two extra keys on the body: the low Eb and low C. The first key that's on the bow is the closed low C# key and you can count from there another five keys. Think.. doesn't this horn look oddly long, even for a C melody?
 
Don't discount the presence of cross fingerings for the same note. (Example: the clarinet practice of providing two fingerings for each of the notes operated by the little fingers.)

I've seen some harmony clarinets that double up down to low D, even though there's little call for such provision on those lower notes. Ditto some basset clarinets and the like.

As a ex-long-time baritone player, I've always longed for alternates on that horn, this to make R&B stuff easier to play. That left hand little finger - literally the weakest finger on a right hander - has to maneuver a dozen feet worth of heavy metal rods and springs, and on a longer version of some classic tunes, you get a real workout, moving to and from low C#.

I have always assumed that the lack of cross fingerings on the saxophone horns was due to the extra weight that the additional connections would merit with more of those rods and such. I have often wanted to pull all of the rod work off of one of my baritones just to get a weight figure for the totality of it all. I would imagine that the figure would astound us...
 
The auction catalogue you linked in the original post says it goes down to low G ("descendant au sol grave") and up to a high G ("montant au sol aigu").
 
The "Saxophone tenor ut, system Dupaquier" is in the 1912 catalogue at 430 Francs (the standard Saxophone tenor ut, is 355 Francs)

This is from a, not terribly clear, pdf of the entire 1912 Couesnon catalogue (page 27) http://www.luthiers-mirecourt.com/couesnon_1912_1.htm

At home I own a perfect condition 1932 catalogue and will see if it still has a mention when I get back from work. My 1932 catalogue has some wonderful musical instruments, which I might take a scan of and share......

Chris
 
MrDibbs said:
The auction catalogue you linked in the original post says it goes down to low G ("descendant au sol grave") and up to a high G ("montant au sol aigu").
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This is why someone that can actually read French is better than a guy that can read Latin that's trying to read French. Much appreciated.
 
Chris J said:
The "Saxophone tenor ut, system Dupaquier" is in the 1912 catalogue at 430 Francs (the standard Saxophone tenor ut, is 355 Francs)

This is from a, not terribly clear, pdf of the entire 1912 Couesnon catalogue (page 27) http://www.luthiers-mirecourt.com/couesnon_1912_1.htm

At home I own a perfect condition 1932 catalogue and will see if it still has a mention when I get back from work. My 1932 catalogue has some wonderful musical instruments, which I might take a scan of and share......

Chris
Click to expand...
Very nice. Thanks much!

There are a lot of great things in that catalog. I think I need to translate that little blurb about DuPaquier. It's also cool to see that Couesnon sold contrabass Sarrusophones in Bb, Eb, and C. Looks like I was just about right on the date!
 
I have used google translate, schoolboy French and much paraphrasing to roughly translate page 37 to be:

The creation of the tenor saxophone in C, extending the range to 3 octaves from low G to high G, fills a gap in particularly discerning symphony orchestras and can be used to replace the cello.

An artist of the Republican Guard, Mr. Dupaquier, had studied this issue for a long time and encouraged the company Couesnon to use its technical and practical knowledge to manufacture these various models.

The mechanism of this Monopole gives a solution to the problem which requires no change in the usual fingering, with the change being the increase in the range alone. All saxophonists can therefore immediately make use of the new instrument.

We have decided to sell the saxophone in C expecting this innovation to be used in symphony orchestras primarily, but also will be useful in other music and band settings.

This saxophone goes from high G to low G, the third string of the cello, which allows you to play the parts of the cello, and also double the contrabass part.


The 1934 Catalogue does not have this model in it.

Chris
 
I found a 1915 catalog for Sherman, Clay & Co., a San Francisco music store. They sold Couesnons, along with bunches of other horns; it's a 116 page catalog. The catalog doesn't mention the Dupaquier horns, either.

There are a lot more catalogs and stuff at the website that Chris J mentioned earlier. A lot of them only list stringed instruments, but it's still a great resource.

I eventually found a 1924 Couesnon catalog. Again, no mention of Dupaquier. (Also a great website with an awful lot of catalogs.)

EDIT: I found this book, published in 1913, that does mention these horns. It's page 1440 in the book and 50 in the PDF.
 
Pete

Can't thank you enough!! These finds are amazing.

These are such rich resources in the history of instruments.

In the 1915 Sherman catalogue - all the Couesnon saxes now have a single automatic octave key. Page 56 details the right thumb key for low C mentioned in another recent thread. It says on page 24 that the Couesnon company works on high volume and low margins and so the price of instruments are 25% lower than other brands! Page 60 says the clarinets sell at half the price of other models. Check out page 66 for a picture of a Buffet clarinet tuning barrel that has a screw extension half way along it. Never seen one of those!

The 1924 Couesnon catalogue is for jazz percussion. Love the cartoons! It shows a set up for various levels, from Jazz-Band Professional right down to Bijou Jazz-Band pour Amateurs. Brilliant stuff.

And the 1913 book - how ever do you find these things!

Honestly Pete - you have made my day.

Chris
 
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