Vocalise

For Violin (or Viola, or Cello) and String Orchestra, (arr.) 2000

A Single Movement work for Solo Violin (or Viola, or Cello) and String Orchestra

Duration: 6′

Premiere: Oct. 2000 Bachanalia String
Orchestra, Emile Chudnovksy, Solo Violin
Merkin Concert Hall, New York

Publisher: Rassel Editions, NY

This is an arrangement made by the composer of his own Vocalise for Chamber Orchestra from his symphonic work Circle of Dreams. Lasser writes: “I wrote my Vocalise in Fall 1999, inspired by the mournful eponymous work by Rachmaninov. Just as in his work, my Vocalise is not simply about a melody alone but rather the interplay between the melody and the counterpoint hidden beneath it in the harmonies of the accompaniment. These lines serve to light up different areas of the violin melody much like spotlights are used to illuminate a sculpture; one does not consciously acknowledge their existence, one notices only the beauty of the art work.”