Vocalise (Rachmaninoff)
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 is a song by Sergei Rachmaninoff, published in 1912 as the last of his Fourteen Songs, Op. 34. Written for voice (soprano or tenor) with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, but is sung using any one vowel (of the singer's choosing). It was dedicated to soprano Antonina Nezhdanova.
Range
Although the original publication stipulates that the song may be sung by either soprano or tenor voice, it is usually chosen to be performed by a soprano. As with many classical vocal pieces, it is transposed into a variety of keys, allowing performers to choose a vocal range more suitable to their natural voice, so that artists who may not have the higher range of a soprano can nevertheless perform the song.
Arrangements
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Vocalise transcribed for violin and piano
 Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin) and Monica Goldstein (piano)
Vocalise
Rachmaninoff conducts his own arrangement of Vocalise for orchestra, in a recording from 1929. Rachmaninoff demonstrates the lyricism he expected from a performance of this piece, with the violins of the Philadelphia Orchestra using portamento to add expressiveness to the main line
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Vocalise has been arranged for many different instrument combinations. Examples are:
For/with orchestra
- for orchestra, arranged by Rachmaninoff himself, also by Morton Gould, Kurt Sanderling, and V. Kin
- for soprano and orchestra, also by Rachmaninoff himself, and by Arcady Dubensky
- for choir and orchestra, arranged by Norman Luboff and Walter Stoff
- for flute and orchestra, arranged by Charles Gerhardt
For chamber ensemble
- for flute choir (flute, alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute, solo flute), arranged by [Andy Findon]
- for piano trio (violin, cello and piano), arranged by the Eroica Trio
- for clarinet, violin and piano, arranged by Quinto Maganini
- for jazz ensemble, arranged by Don Sebesky
- for 24 cellos, as performed by the London Cello Orchestra.
For solo instrument and piano
- for clarinet and piano, arranged by Stanley Drucker
- for clarinet and piano, arranged by Thomas Swatland
- for clarinet and piano, arranged by David Campbell
- for trombone and piano, arranged by Christian Lindberg
- for trombone and piano, arranged by Henry Charles Smith
- for euphonium and piano, arranged by Steven Mead
- for tuba and piano, arranged by Virginia Allen
- for violin and piano, arranged by Jascha Heifetz
- for cello and piano, arranged by Jascha Heifetz and Mstislav Rostropovich
- for cello and piano, arranged by Wolfram Huschke
- for cello and piano, arranged by Raphael Wallfisch
- for double bass and piano, arranged by Stuart Sankey
- for double bass and piano, arranged by Oscar G. Zimmerman (in D minor)
- for saxophone and piano, arranged by John Harle
- for Horn and piano, transcribed by Himie Voxman
- for Viola and piano, arranged by Leonard Davis
- for oboe and piano, arranged by Humbert Lucarelli
- for bassoon and piano, arranged by Leonard Sharrow (in C minor)
- for bassoon and piano, arranged by J. Michael Leonard (in E minor)
For solo instrument
- for solo piano, many arrangements, including by Alan Richardson (1951), Zoltán Kocsis, Earl Wild, and Anton Borodin (2003)
- for accordion, arranged by Nikolai Ryskov
- for saxophone, arranged by Larry Teal
- for trumpet, arranged by Rolf Smedvig
- for organ, arranged by David Briggs and Patricia Bird
- for guitar, arranged by Slash
Other
- for two pianos, arranged by Vitya Vronsky
- for electronic instruments, arranged by Isao Tomita
- for theremin with piano, arranged by Clara Rockmore
External links
- Review of a CD consisting entirely of different arrangements of Rachmaninoff's Vocalise
- Songs, Op. 34: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Performance of Vocalise by pianist Gleb Ivanov from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format
