Sax Choir

Samum Maximus

Karl Robrecht, arr. Peter Guthrie, Ben Tordoff

Composed:
1935 Arranged:
1997 & 2024 Grouping:
lsSSAAACTTTBBbc Duration:
04:55

Robrecht was well known as a composer of dance tunes, but this ''Symphonic Foxtrot'' was made famous in the UK by the Blackpool Tower Ballroom Band. It wasn’t a dance but instead a show-piece designed to impress.

This was a piece Peter Guthrie really loved and had versions of for various different bands he played in. It was one of his earliest arrangements for sax octet when he first got his bass sax, and has been a staple of many Plural Sax gatherings and concerts.

This ''maximus'' arrangement takes Peter's octet and scales it up for the big time. It includes parts for 15 saxes from the tiny sopranissimo (soprillo) to the mighty contrabass with the oft-neglected C Melody in the middle. It was prepared specially for a saxophone day in November 2024 with more than 30 players, although in the end we never got time to play it!

See also Peter's original octet version: Samum

If you enjoyed this piece, have comments or corrections, we'd love to hear from you.

This music is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence.