Vocalise

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A vocalise is a vocal exercise (often one suitable for performance) without words, which is sung on one or more vowel sounds. The singing of vocalise is called vocalization.

Vocalise dates back to the mid-18th century. Jean-Antoine Bérard's 1755 compilation L’art du chant includes a selection of songs (sans words) by composers such as Lully and Rameau, chosen for their value as exercises in vocal technique. Accompanying the exercises were instructions on mastering the technical challenges they posed. By the 19th century vocalises were commonly composed specifically for pedagogical purposes rather than being adapted from existing songs.

A related tradition of vocalise sprang up in the 19th century, with wordless technical etudes set to piano accompaniment, following the fashion of the time of setting even the most mechanical of études to piano accompaniment with the thought that this would inspire the performer to execute the music more artistically.

One of the best-known examples of vocalise is Rachmaninoff's Vocalise op. 34 no. 14, written in 1912 for soprano Antonina Nezhdanova. It has been recorded numerous times and adapted for other voice types as well as orchestral and solo instrumental performance.

The first, slow movement of Heitor Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (1938) features a soprano aria over a cello ensemble, which evolves into an extended vocalise that floats over a pizzicato accompaniment.

"Vocalese", whose name is a play on "vocalise", is a type of jazz singing in which new words are created and sung to existing instrumental improvisations.