Vocalise

For Violin (or Viola, or Cello) and String Quartet, 2003 (arr.)

A single movement work for Solo Violin (or Viola, or Cello) and String Quartet

Duration: 6′

Premiere: Soo Bae, Quartetto Solo, The Juilliard School, 2003

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.”