The saxophone was developed in 1840 by
Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, flautist, and clarinetist based in Brussels. Sax went to considerable effort to popularize the instrument but faced opposition in his efforts from his fellow instrument makers at the time. Despite being initially conceived of as an orchestral instrument, it was through the avenue of
military music that the instrument first gained significant momentum. The main impetus for the recognition of this ensemble was by
Marcel Mule, who was the second Professor of saxophone at the
Paris Conservatoire after Adolphe Sax himself. In 1928, he founded Le Quatuor de la Musique de la Garde Républicaine, later known as Le Quatuor de saxophones de Paris, and then the Marcel Mule Quartet. The founding members were: •
Marcel Mule on soprano • René Chaligné on alto • Hippolyte Poimboeuf on tenor • Georges Chauvet on baritone Subsequent members included: • Paul Romby • Fernande L’homme • Georges Charron • Marcel Josse • André Bauchy • Georges Gourdet •
Guy Lacour Many works for saxophone quartet that are now considered part of the standard repertoire were written for this ensemble. Mule himself also arranged works for this group.
Daniel Deffayet was a student of Marcel Mule, and later professor of saxophone at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1953 he founded the ‘’Quatuor de Saxophones Daniel Deffayet’’ with other members Jacques Maffei, Jacques Terry and Jean Ledieu.
Sigurd Rascher, his daughter
Carina Rascher, Bruce Weinberger and
Linda Bangs formed the
Rascher Saxophone Quartet in 1969 which continues to this day.
Jean-Yves Fourmeau formed his own quartet in 1979. These ensembles contributed significantly to expanding the repertoire through their work with composers. Notable composers who have written quartets include
Phil Woods,
Alexander Glazunov,
Eugene Bozza,
Philip Glass,
Juan María Solare, and others. Since the 1970s jazz quartets have started to emerge as well, broadening the scope of the ensemble and the idiom of the repertoire. ==Current forms==