Report for the AsSaFra of the birthday party for the 100 years of Marcel Mule, where I was invited as president of the association.

On Sunday, June 24th, 2001, in the residence "Louisiana" in Hyères, 50 former students and friends were gathered to celebrate the 100 years of Marcel Mule. While waiting for the arrival of master, there was an opportunity of reunions between alumni among which some had not seen each other for 20 or 30 years, and which had not hesitated to cross  numerous kilometers, borders and seas to attend the event.

The representatives of French saxophonists' Associations (A.SAX) and the American (NASA) were also present, to testify of the vitality of his influence on the school of the classic saxophone all over the world.

A luxurious buffet waited for us, raised by the chef of the residence.

Marcel Mule appears, and a long ovation which welcomes him. Funnily, the master thanks everybody and asks as if surprised : "Is this a meeting of retired people, here ?" (Which was actually the case for a majority of the persons present) and adds "There is nothing particular to do to become a hundred-year-old : only let things have their course. There is no merit in it ! ".

Then Guy Lacour speaks:

" Dear Mister Mule

I am very honored and happy to express myself in the name of all those who are gathered around you today to pay tribute and present you all their wishes on the occasion of your hundredth birthday.

Indeed, June 24th, 1901, in a small Norman village, Aube (in the Orne), was born a little boy named Marcel by his parents. From the age of 8, you learned the saxophone with your dad. A little later, it will be the violin and the piano. Aged 11, you already are granted a 1st Prize in a local competition organized by the Musical Confederacy of France. After your schooling, and because such was the desire of your father, you join and are received to the teachers' training college in Evreux. In 1920, you are named(appointed) to Beaumont-le-Roger, where your father is a heading the brass band, but your idea was to prepare music professor's diploma for high schools.

Your short career as a primary school teacher breaks off with your call to the army. You make your military service in the Music of 5th Regiment of Infantry, where you will be soloist during two years. You take advantage of it to perfect your knowledge of the violin and learn harmony, fugue and the counterpoint. In 1923, the very day of your liberation, you will compete and be admitted in the Music of the Republican guard. Two months later, you become the soloist of the band ; you are then 22 years old. In 1928, you establish the Quartet of Saxophones of the Republican guard who will give its first concert the same year in La Rochelle. A small anecdote by the way : I remember hearing your frequently joke about a rather old reed "it is the reed of La Rochelle!".

In 1936, after thirteen years of good and faithful service, you leave the Republican guard to dedicate yourselves to your career as concert performer, quartettist and teacher. In 1942, you reach consecration : a class of saxophone is created at the Paris National Superior Conservatory for Music of, and you are apointed professor. You teach there during 26 years and take a well deserved pension in 1968. Here is summarized very briefly your brilliant career.

To the considerable advance that you acquired by your talent, is thus added the one that you took by the age : indeed, neither Pablo Casals, nor Arthur Rubinstein, nor Lily Laskine had been able to do better, and it deserves sincere congratulations and warm applauses.

As for the saxophone, it now widely exceeds the 150 years ; and if it is always in peak condition, it owes most of it to you. You gave to this beautiful instrument the place which it deserved in the musical landscape, and rooted it there profoundly. You endowed it with solid branches thanks to the numerous students whom you trained - approximately 80 First prizes in the Paris Conservatory - and it is still rapidly expanding, since all these ramifications regularly cover with new buds. Of course, some leaves turned yellow, but fresh ones appear constantly. It is the law of nature, isn't it ?

As you probably understood, you are for us, Mister Mule, the major reference. And if I dared an audacious comparison, I could say that if some people refer to Karl Marx, others to Charles de Gaulle, us in the S.P. ... I am speaking about the "saxophonists' party", we also have, in spite of inevitable currents, our iconic figure : which is yourself, Marcel Mule.

Allow the follower and the partner that I was to repeat to you all our admiration and all our gratitude for all that you brought us. As for me, the years I lasted by your side in your quartet will remain unforgettable.

Before ending, and in the name of all, I would like to send some well deserved thanks. First of all to Roland Audefroy, who is the initiator of this ceremony, and who spared no effort to organize it with Jean-Marie Londeix's important collaboration. Thanks to Mr. the Manager of this establishment for his hospitality, and thanks for their support to all of those on whom we can always count : I named the Selmer, Vandoren, Woodwind and Brasswind companies, the Billaudot and Leduc Editions, without forgetting the Association of the Saxophonists (A.SAX) and the French Ensemble of Saxophones.

A thought also to all those who for diverse reasons were not able to be present today : estrangement, professional activities, but regrettably also for health reasons of (I think in particular of Daniel Deffayet).

Mr. Mule, you climbed hundred steps, it's high time now to head towards the buffet to take back some strengths. It will also allow us to raise our glass to your health. But previously, allow me to offer you these few flowers.

And as it is of tradition for any birthday, we have the pleasure to offer you a memory- present. But for this, I let its promoter, Jean-Marie Londeix, who is going to tell you in what it consists.

It is in fact a magnificent Visitors' book (Livre d'or) on every page of which appeared the photo and the testimony of recognition of a large number of former students and friends.

Previously, in the name of the municipality of Sanary - where Marcel Mule lived for numerous years-, Claude Décugis had given the medal of the city to Mr. Mule.

The "official" part(party) of this ceremony ended by the execution of Christian Lauba's "Jungle" by Cédric Carcélès, the youngest of the students admitted in the CNSMDP this year.

It is also necessary to specify that a concert had taken place the day before (Saturday, June 23rd at 5:45 pm ') in the Espace Maurice Fleuret of the Paris conservatory, just after the Recitals of the Saxophone Prize. The establishment which had consacred Mr. Mule by offering him the responsibility of the class of saxophone's creation, had been anxious to greet him by a musical tribute. Through some representative pieces of his repertory, those who wished it could so propose a short reminder of the carreer of the Master.

The program, applauded by a numerous and enthusiast public, consisted in :

Enrique Granados'  " Goyescas " by Claude Delangle ( A ) and Fumie Ito (P °)
Jean-Sebastien Bach's "Sonata in G minor" by Jean-Denis Michat (S) and Fumie Ito (P°)
Maurice Ravel's "Habañera" and Jacques Ibert's “Histoires” by Erwan Fagant (A) and Fumie Ito (P °)
Paul Bonneau's “Caprice en forme de valse” by Serge Bertocchi (Tubax)
Paule Maurice's “Tableaux de Provence” by Fabrice Moretti (A) and Olivier Dauriat (P °)
Gabriel Pierné's " Introduction and variations " by the Diastema Quartet ( SATB)

A text written on April 26th, 2001, for the "Livre d'or" published by Jean-Marie Londeix on the occasion of Marcel Mule's 100th birthday.

Who am I to want to speak about Marcel Mule, while many are those who were next to him for years, received from him the inheritance of the classic school of the saxophone, and in return, fed their own students (among whom myself) ?
Maybe for this same reason, may I speak more freely, without extreme emotional implication, about what he continues to embody for many saxophonists today...
I am of those who think that his inheritance remains essential, about forty years after he stopped teaching and playing.

It is obvious that I grew up musically in the tradition that he had built, played his collections of studies, transcriptions, studied his solo and quartet repertory. I was impressed by the fascination, the worship which my elders and my professors experienced for the man and the musician, which contributed to strengthen an impression of almost absolute inaccessibility which surrounded his character, with his aura of glory and mystery.

But on the other hand, the excessive (and divergent) speeches, the apparently simple-minded reductions (vibrato, austerity, virtuosity, repertory) incited me to a kind of juvenile revolt, putting in doubt the doxa : was this cheap lot all what Marcel Mule had bequeathed us ?

The discovery of his recordings (or rather of the only available one then) was for me a source of surprises with regard to what I had been told : few things corresponded to the image that I had built of him. Neither the sound, nor the vibrato, really corresponded to my personal practice ! Some did not hesitate to get back on their statements : the older recordings were different (better ?). And nevertheless, in spite of debatable qualities of sound recording, here was for me something more interesting than I had been allowed to glimpse ! Something remained : Marcel Mule's character was modified according to how we looked at him ! The mystery thickened ...

Physical meetings were rather rare, obviously : in Competitions juries as Gap in 1978, or Aix-les-Bains in 1981, or during Saxophone World Congresses (Nürnberg, Kawasaki). I discovered an old sir (for my arrogant 20 years, he was then four times my age), which sometimes had a kind word (or a caustic one too) for me or my coreligionists, and who seemed almost amazed at the fertility of his artistic descent (" Oh, you know, everybody plays very well now, isn't it ? And there are so many people !"). Who seemed to have a sharp listening, and the talent for repartee. Who was always accompanied by his wife, and who did not hesitate to pose on a photo with a young quartet to please them.

Then came the discovery of the older recordings of the master. With actually this illumination : the exceptional dexterity, of course. The beauty of the tone, into which the vibrato was integrated (not added), obviously. But especially this indescribable thing he was able to do with the tempo, a kind of total freedom, a permanent and maximal risk-taking, an impression of nonchalance and ease, though we know it was obtained only with a higher control than when technique is ostentatious ...

Of course, some details were out of fashion, could not be conceived in this way any more, but essential for me was to be able to search in this extraordinary "kind" of playing the elements which would allow me to build my own vision of the instrument.
And at first this iconoclastic idea : of course, Marcel Mule said he didn't estimate much new music, but wasn't it too much to require from him? (Which of the musicians of his time had been able to follow the drastic evolutions of the history of music after the School of Vienna, or maybe electroacoustic music ?). But as far as I knew, he played the contemporary music of his time! He essentially played premieres, almost permanently ! The French neo-classic repertory regrettably badly bore the passing of time : should we now (by respect to the man who defended it at the appropriate time) still try to promote it, decades later, at the risk of compromising ourselves with the "serious" musicians ? In being excessively literal, did not we betray finally the spirit of his work ?
I can say that I got out of these thoughts with my own tastes and choices consolidated, in the name of the person who for many other saxophonists embodied the exact opposite !

It is only much later that I understood the historic necessity for Mule of making the demonstration of the potential "classicism" of the saxophone. Republican Guard, Paris Conservatory's Class, "official" composers, transcriptions of "hits" of classical music : this alltogether made sense ! The desperate search of a repertory still in construction. The difficulty to make the right stylistic choice without the help of passing time. I listened to violinists of histime playing with an even more pronounced vibrato (on the whole, Mr. Mule remained rather sober, on this point!). I learnt to admit that every artist can (and should) look for a path which will be his own, while learning from successes (and errors) of the past.

And then, there was this long conversation (in 1994), which attached me definitively to the character of Marcel Mule. He had made an extremely nice comment about a XIXth century quartets CD which we had just realized, and suggested me calling him back at his home to speak about it (I noticed then, that I had still never dared to !). I also wished to speak to him about the project of reissue of his recordings by the AsSaFra, and why it was so important in my opinion for all the young musicians (and others).
We spoke repertory, music, saxophone, ideals... I keep of this moment a priceless and touched memory, of which I could never thank him enough.

Yes, Mister Mule you remain in my opinion the perfect model for all classical saxophonists, because the richness of your playing allows anybody to find enough to feed his own technical and musical concerns ... resulting in a surprising diversity !

Dear Master, I wish you an excellent hundredth birthday !

Texte écrit pour l’encyclopédie Wikipédia en réponse à une présentation assez critique de Marcel Mule et de son action en faveur de la musique.

Analyse n° 2 - « Pour »

Cependant, pour comprendre le personnage et son action, il faut le replacer dans son contexte historique : au début du XXe siècle, le saxophone est avant tout un instrument associé aux musiques militaires et de divertissement. Il est alors inconcevable pour un compositeur sérieux d'écrire pour saxophone. La classe du Conservatoire de Paris, fermée en 1870 pour cause de guerre et raisons budgétaires ... l'est toujours ! Il est alors nécessaire de donner « ses lettres de noblesse » à l'instrument, pour l'aider à intégrer le monde de la musique sérieuse : les orchestes  et les conservatoires ... et la tâche est ardue !

Mule commencera par transcrire des pièces classiques, puis de compositeurs renommés (Ravel, Pierné...), afin d'attirer leur attention, avec succès, sur le quatuor de saxophone. C'est ainsi que nombre de compositeurs écrivirent pour son quatuor : Gabriel Pierné, Jean Françaix, Alexandre Glazounov, Jean Rivier, Eugène Bozza, Georges Migot ; Maurice Ravel envisageait aussi de le faire avant d'en être empêché par la maladie qui l'emporta.

Outre sa très brillante carrière de chambriste, Mule fut également un musicien d'orchestre très actif : il joua avec tous les orchestres parisiens et les plus grands chefs firent appel à ses services. Il créa nombre d'œuvres radiophoniques et de musiques de films : sa sonorité et son vibrato particuliers se reconnaissent lorsqu'on revoit les films de Marcel Carné, René Clair ... et toute la production des années 1930 aux années 1950. Au sein de l'orchestre, il sert, souvent en soliste, des compositeurs aussi divers que Jacques Ibert, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, André Jolivet, Maurice Ravel, entre autres.

Il est clair cependant qu'il négligea la carrière soliste, appréciant peu les longs voyages et la vie de bohème qu'impliquent cette activité. Il n'était pas non plus particulièrement enclin, comme son rival et alter ego Sigurd Rascher, à solliciter les compositeurs au nom du saxophone, estimant qu'il leur revenait de faire cette démarche... N'oublions pas qu'au moment où il fut recréé pour lui le poste de professeur au Conservatoire de Paris, ses pairs le considéraient comme le « meilleur musicien de la place » à Paris... On ne s'étonnera donc pas dans ce contexte que Mule ait négligé les musiques apparaissant plus marginales : le jazz et la variété rappelaient trop un passé « léger » qu'il souhaitait faire oublier, tout comme certains aspects « populaires » des prises de position de certains musiciens du groupe des six, ou l'intellectualisme de l'école de Vienne  et de ses dérivés. Et qu'il ait choisi bien au contraire de soutenir les compositeurs les plus « installés », soit par leur célébrité, soit par leur position de pouvoir : chefs d'orchestres, inspecteurs de la musique, directeurs de conservatoires... dont l'histoire oubliera malheureusement un grand nombre...

À l'époque où il est actif, les rares musiciens français engagés dans ce que l'on nommait la « musique d'avant-garde » étaient considérés comme de doux farceurs... et l'on pouvait difficilement prévoir qu'ils prendraient peu après les rênes d'un « nouvel académisme contemporain ». Au rebours, nombre de compositeurs « modernes » détestaient le vibrato qui avait tant séduit leurs aînés et refusèrent d'être joués de cette manière. Quand ils n'étaient pas, comme Olivier Messiaen, effrayés par la « lascivité » du saxophone de jazz... On peut également comprendre qu'un homme qui vécut jusqu'à cent ans, ait conservé de grandes réserves vis-à-vis des innovations de plus en plus radicales qui naîtraient depuis les années 1960, certainement aggravées par 40 années d'inactivité musicale...

Si l'on tente un bilan, on peut considérer qu'une partie des buts que s'étaient fixés Marcel Mule sont aujourd'hui atteints : le saxophone est désormais enseigné dans tous les conservatoires français par des spécialistes (pratique qui tend à se généraliser dans le monde), alors que ce rôle était auparavant confié aux bassonistes ou clarinettistes. Les compositeurs majeurs de notre temps n'hésitent plus à écrire pour le saxophone, voire les saxophones : celui-ci est même aujourd'hui l'un des instruments les plus sollicités par les compositeurs. Les ensembles de saxophones fleurissent, leur qualité est reconnue et ils s'imposent dans les concours internationaux de musique de chambre. Le grand nombre de musiciens de haut niveau formés dans les conservatoires assure une pérennité à la création, à la recherche et à la diffusion du répertoire le plus intéressant du saxophone, tout comme à une diversité incroyable de démarches individuelles, mais il reste boudé par les orchestres et les programmateurs de concerts classiques (y compris dans la musique contemporaine, un comble si l'on considère la part qu'y tient le saxophone !). Et le répertoire soliste du milieu du XX° siècle souffre en France d'un certain académisme ... le prix à payer ?