Vocalise

Program Note:

While they are overshadowed in both scale and popularity by his piano works, the songs of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) constitute a substantial and underappreciated body of music. Ironically, the song that has become more widely known is the only one of his 80+ songs that does not have words. The wordless Vocalise can be heard in arrangements for every possible instrument—from cello to theremin—but it remains most affecting as a work for soprano and strings. Written in 1912 for Antonina Nezhdanova, one of the greatest coloratura sopranos of the early 20th century, Vocalise concludes Rachmaninoff’s fourteen songs, Op. 34, which include settings of poetry by Pushkin, Bal’mont, and Tyutchev. Rachmaninoff had a true gift for simple, stepwise melodies of haunting allure, and this song is no exception.
The main motive sequences downward by step until it soars back up higher than where it started. Touches of modal harmony (the lowered second scale degree, avoided leading tones) add an antique charm that contrasts so well with the pleading, passionate melody. During the coda, accompaniment and voice swaps roles; now the “tune” is given to the strings, and the voice ascends contrapuntally to an expressive highpoint at the upper limit of its range. What makes such gestures so compelling, to me, is how Rachmaninoff could adapt the dramatic design of song like this simple Vocalise to build 40-minute concertos and symphonies.

(c) Jason Stell