Klarinet Archive - Posting 000925.txt from 1997/03

From: Lord Rob <rteitelbaum@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: questions
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 1997 00:54:16 -0500

Doug,

I think you're right that there are no dumb questions, except those that remain
unasked. Anyway, while I am by no means a Rachmaninoff expert, I do have
the following from literature accompanying my recording, specifically the
VoxBox3, CD3X 3002. (Vocalise is arranged for orchestra.)

First, I assume you already know that it is Op. 34, No. 14, so that places it ju
st
before "The Bells", an unnumbered symphony with chorus and vocal soloists
based on Poe's famous poem of the same name. What this means is that the
Vocalise was written during a rather happy period in Rach.'s life, after recover
ing
from a deep depression, ostensibly through autosuggestion therapy. Actually, thi
s
makes sense to me. I've always thought of the Vocalise not as a melancholy piece
,
but simply as a mellow one. It's very peaceful and soothing to me. (I'm listenin
g to
it now and that is still the effect.) Either way, it's certainly an expressive,
beautiful solo.

As for historical background of the piece, it is the most famous of Rach.'s six
dozen
songs, and was published in 1912 as the last in a collection of 14, the other 13
having
texts by various Russian poets. The Vocalise has no words at all, however, since
the name
means a vocal exercise, or in this case a song without words. Originally it was
for soprano
or tenor voice with piano and dedicated to soprano Antonina Nezhdanova, who gave
the first
public performance, with Rach. on piano, in Moscow on January 24, 1916. Since th
en, it has
been arranged many times, some by Rachmaninoff himself and some by others.
The recording literature further states that "The Vocalise is in fact far better
-known in the
orchestral form than the original one, and this seems its more or less predestin
ed format, for
the flowing theme is characteristic of the composer's most expressive slow movem
ents."

Hope some of this helps. I'm posting to the Listserve as it may be of general in
terest. Good luck
on your recital tomorrow night!

Rob Teitelbaum

PS I know nothing about Luyben ligatures, but have you tried a shoestring ligatu
re? It's pretty
cheap to test (about 50 cents), and may provide a solution. See the Klarinet Arc
hive on Sneezy
for more details, or read Pino's book.