Recently, I became aware of a new instrument called the Aulochrome. It’s a polyphonic woodwind instrument looks like two soprano saxophones joined together. It was created by a Belgian instrument maker named Francois Louis. It mechanizes many of the things Rahsaan Roland Kirk was able to do manually with two or three horns - pedal point, interval playing and contrapuntal lines. Maybe it should be called the Rahsaanophone!
I wrote to the inventor and he informed me that only the one prototype exists. He also hopes to add sound samples and a fingering chart to his website once he has the time.
It hasn’t gone into production yet, but the Aulochrome is my new obsession. I had to wait 30 years to get a stritch; hopefully it won’t be that long to get an Aulochrome.
2 comments:
One of the very first posts on my blog, almost two years ago, was about the aulochrome and a demonstration I attended. At the moment, Fabrizio Cassol (of Aka Moon) is the only person using the prototype on a regular basis. It's a fascinating instrument, but if you're hoping to buy one, I think you'll be holding your breath for a long time! :)
That's OK, I don't have the money for one yet!
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