The soprillo, also known as the piccolo saxophone or rarely sopranissimo saxophone, is the highest pitched and smallest saxophone. The soprillo was developed as a piccolo extension to the saxophone family in the late 1990s by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim, although a working prototype sopranissimo of the same pitch was made in 1960 in a more compact curved form.
The soprillo is pitched in BâÂÂ, one octave above the soprano saxophone, and half its length at including the mouthpiece.
Adolphe Sax's 1846 patent for the saxophone specified a family of saxophones in several sizes and pitches, ranging from the giant subcontrabass in Bâ to the sopranino in Eâ or F. The concept of another size of saxophone, even smaller and higher than the sopranino, was described in method books published in the same year, before many of the different sizes of saxophone were first built. The 1846 saxophone methods by and Jean-Georges Kastner both provide transposition charts for seven sizes, starting with the in C and Bâ an octave or minor seventh above concert pitch (while omitting the tenor size, and either the alto or baritone size).
The first playable piccolo instrument was a prototype sopranissimo saxophone built in 1960, in Bâ a fifth higher than the sopranino. Hand-made by the Brussels-based maker Robert van Linthout in the familiar curved form that turns the bell through 180ð to point upwards, it measured barely long.
In 1998, the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim finished his first (), also pitched in Bâ and built in the longer soprano-like straight form. He called it the soprillo, and exhibited it in Frankfurt along with his prototype tubax in March 1999.
The soprillo is pitched in Bâ and is the smallest saxophone, at long including the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is non-removable, and the ligature, integrated into the instrument, is designed to fit the small reeds for the sopranino Eâ clarinet.
Compared to a soprano saxophone, the soprillo is pitched one octave higher and is half its length. Constructing such a small saxophone presents several challenges. Most saxophones have keys for high F and Fâ¯, but the soprillo only has keywork to high EâÂÂ. The small size of the soprillo means the upper octave key forms part of the mouthpiece.
the Eppelsheim soprillo is the only piccolo-sized saxophone manufactured. They are expensive compared to other small saxophones; due to very limited demand, they are only built to order.
The soprillo is difficult to play, especially in the high register. The small size of both the mouthpiece and the reed requires a strong embouchure, but also makes the soprillo easily accessible to players experienced with Eâ clarinet or sopranino saxophone. There is very little music written explicitly for the soprillo, given its short history and extremely high pitch. The British saxophonist Nigel Wood wrote and commissioned several solo soprillo works, performing and recording them for his 2008 CD, Soprillogy. Saxophonists Vinny Golia, Jay C. Easton and Attilio Berni also perform and record on soprillo.