Sonate en ut dièze mineur pour saxophone alto (ou alto) et orchestre

Movements

1- Modéré et très expressif; 2- Andante; 3- Fileuse; 4- Nocturne et final

The Sonata in C-sharp for alto saxophone (or viola) is Decruck’s most well-known work. Decruck created two versions of her world famous sonata, one with saxophone or viola and piano, the other with full orchestral accompaniment. The latter version is rarely heard. Decruck combines the Classical sonata form with impressionistic harmony and at times, polytonality. Decruck dedicated this work to Marcel Mule, the world renowned French saxophonist. Although Mule had countless compositions written for him in his lifetime, he took the time to record the Fileuse movement of the Sonata. The first movement begins mysteriously in the orchestra before unfolding to a pastoral melody featuring the soloist and orchestra in dialogue. The second movement, Noel, references “Noël Nouvelet” (“Christmas Comes Anew”), a traditional French carol and is infused with melancholy. Fileuse (“spinning”) features the saxophonist performing virtuosic passage works and takes the traditional place of the Scherzo. The finale is structured in two parts, a Nocturne which again has a mysterious feel while also evoking a funeral march before transitioning to the Rondel section which brings the work to a heroic close.

There are several different versions of this work and all are available through Éditions Billaudot and its distributors. www.billaudot.com

“Musique et Radio” a Paris monthly magazine from 1943. It looks like it was the publisher’s (Lucien de Lacour) blurb about the new music they were trying to sell.

Of interest: the titles in this blurb match the ones that she crossed out and added in the manuscript of her reduction rather than the published titles.

Further evidence that this work was originally for the saxophone.

Original French

On sait que cela est dû, en grande partie, a l'incomparable virtuose de cet instrument Marcel Mule, professeur au Conservatoire qui, avec son quatuor ou en soliste, a fait connaître les possibilités insoupçonnées du saxo dont l'agilité, le couleur poétique sont bien particulières. C'est ainsi que de nombreuses oeuvres pour saxophone et orchestre, ou avec piano, transcriptions, et ce qui est mieux, oeuvres originales, témoignent de l'interêt que les compositeurs d'aujourd'hui ont pour cette nouvelle couleur sonore.

Voici une récente publication de Lucien de Lacour (dont il est inutile de souligner l'activité extraordinaire en ces temps difficiles en faveur de la jeune musique), une Sonate en ut dièse, de Fernande Decruck, pour saxo et piano, dont il existe aussi une version avec orchestre. Ce vocable de sonate doit être pris dans un sens plus large que celui qu'on lui affecte généralement, puis qu'il s'agit non pas d'une succession rigoureuse de morceaux alternés traditionnellement, mais d'une forme plus libre, sorte de suite composée d'un premier mouvement modéré, expressif et soutenu qui chante généreusement, d'un andante que traversent des souvenirs de folklore, semble-t-il, d'une fileuse, où la souple agilité de l'instrument peut se donner libre cours et enfin d'un court nocturne suivi d'un final. Musique franche, spontanée, qui plaira sûrement aux instrumentistes et à leurs auditeurs. Ajoutons que cette sonate en ut dièse est aussi publiée pour alto et piano et, comme telle, peut s'exécuter aussi sur cet instrument qui n'a pas lui non plus  à sa disposition une littérature très nombreuse. (De Lacour)

English (Google Translate)

We know that this is due, in large part, to the incomparable virtuoso of this instrument, Marcel Mule, professor at the Conservatory who, with his quartet or as a soloist, made known the unsuspected possibilities of the sax, including agility, poetic colouration. are very specific. Thus many works for saxophone and orchestra, or with piano, transcriptions, and what is better, original works, testify to the interest that composers today have for this new sound color.

Here is a recent publication by Lucien de Lacour (whose extraordinary activity in these difficult times in favor of young music need not be emphasized), a Sonata in C sharp, by Fernande Decruck, for sax and piano, of which there is also a version with orchestra. This sonata term must be taken in a broader sense than that which is generally assigned to it, since it is not a question of a rigorous succession of traditionally alternated pieces, but of a freer form, a sort of suite made up of a moderate, expressive and sustained first movement which sings generously, of an andante crossed by memories of folklore, it seems, of a spinner, where the flexible agility of the instrument can be given free rein course and finally a short night followed by a final. Frank, spontaneous music, which will surely appeal to instrumentalists and their listeners. Let us add that this sonata in C sharp is also published for viola and piano and, as such, can also be performed on this instrument which does not have a very large literature at its disposal either. (From Lacour)

Fun Fact:

Newspaper listing in the BNF shows that on August 11, 1943 the radio played the Sonate with Marcel Mule and André Collard.