Concerts with musical saw (Lame Sonore) and piano

I play the Lame Sonore since 2011. The instrument is popularly called “musical saw”. In French the musical saw is called “scie musicale”, in Dutch “zingende zaag” (lit. singing saw). The Lame Sonore is not often played, especially not in the Netherlands.

Together with pianist Nanke Flach I regularly perform “an unusual concert”. Unusual because during the concerts we alternately perform classical works for Cello and Piano, and for Lame Sonore and Piano. Unusual also because of the concert locations. Besides performing at regular stages, we played at several unusual locations.
For example, we performed during the “Kunstnacht” (Art Night Festival) in Den Bosch, in the Museum of Instruments in Eelde (near Groningen), participated in the grand concert of the NNO, Noord Nederlands Orkest (NNO) in the Oosterpoort, Groningen and were invited to play on Dutch Radio4, live broadcasted from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. But we also played in an old wine cellar, in a former sugar refinery and  at outdoor music festivals like Mañana Mañana.

In the summer of 2014, we participated in the Ibla Grand Prize, held at Sicily. We won a Special Mention for our performances and were subsequently invited to participate in the Ibla Grand Prize winners concert tour, in May 2015. Part of this tour was our debut concert at Carnegie Hall. An extended review about this concert was written by Jeffrey James.

The jury  about our concerts at Sicily:

” they create a wonderful sound and a mystic atmosphere”
“I like the way she chooses her vibrato and her phrasing”
“Interesting performance with a very interesting instrument”

Our performances are received warmly and called surprising.

After our performance at the grand concert in De Oosterpoort, we received a letter from which I quote:

“Our guests were very enthusiastic and especially appreciated the way they were surprised and touched by a performance in such a modest setting. We think this evening the musical saw has been shown in a splendid way”.

My fascination for the Lame Sonore

A few years ago I fell under the spell of the melodious sound of the musical saw. I bought a concrete saw and tried to produce a sound from it with a bow. After a week I managed to play Happy Birthday on it. Via the firm Stiggelbout in Groningen, specialized in western and non-western percussion instruments, I ordered my first musical saw.

Looking for greater sound reproduction and a more beautiful sound, I found the French version of the musical saw: The Lama Sonore. This “Stradivarius” among the saws has a reach of 3 ½ octaves. The French Lame Sonore builder Alexis Faucomprez built one for me in 2011.

Playing the Lame Sonore gives me an inner musical enrichment. Because only one manual has been written for this instrument I have had to invent the wheel again in several areas. Think of a completely new technique of bowing, new manners of phrasing, finding the right playing position and conquering technical dilemmas.

Repertoire for the Lame Sonore (musical saw)

A number of composers just after World War II wrote some small compositions for the Lame Sonore. On my repertoire there are compositions by the composers Honegger, Koechlin, Dom Clémant-Jacob, Joseph Canteloube and Henri Sauget. Also music written not specifically for Lame Sonore, but f.i. for cello or singing voice, is suitable to be played.

Recently, several composers from a.o. The Netherlands, France and the US, have been composing music for our duo (Annette Scholten, lame sonore and Nanke Flach, piano). Soon, we hope to record a CD and include some of these pieces.