Jules Demersseman met an untimely death in 1866. He was then 33 years old, at the height of a spectacular career as a virtuoso flute soloist when, unexplainedly and mysteriously, he suddenly died.  His obituary noted that he was then “the leading flute virtuoso in Paris,” and also a young composer of remarkable talent and accomplishment. He had composed 139 works, many of which have unfortunately disappeared without a trace even though they were published in Paris during and after his lifetime. He even composed a comic opera that was well received in Paris. His extraordinary natural gifts as a composer and his legendary virtuosity as a flutist were noticed by many—including composer Hector Berlioz. 

Another of Demersseman's admirers was the inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax—who commissioned Demersseman to compose a large-scale work that displayed the instrument’s amazing stechnical and artistic capabilities.  The result was Demersseman’s Fantaisie sur un thème original pour alto saxophone et piano, published by Adolphe Sax in Paris in 1860. Even a quick glance at this saxophone and piano score reveals that the extensive piano accompaniment is highly orchestral in nature. In Mr. Starr's view, this music cries out for orchestral accompaniment. Mr. Starr has provided an orchestration that at once is both true to the style of orchestral works in France in the mid-Nineteenth Century and also brilliant and colorful.

This fantaisie was but the first of serveral works by Demersseman that featured as soloists the saxophone and other instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. Mark Starr has arranged most of them for soloist and orchestra. If interested, please inquire at noteworthymusic@zasu.us for details. Incidentally, Demersseman was French, not Belgian, as is somestimes mistakenly stated in biographies. He was born in Hondschoote, Départment Nord, France–near the Belgian border.