Edward Rushton & Harry Kinross White - 23 Vocalise-études (Arr. for Alto Saxophone & Piano) (2016) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Vocalise-etude, Alla gitana (arr. M. Mule for alto saxophone and piano)
02. Vocalise-étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
03. Vocalise, FP 44 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
04. Vocalise étude, Op. 83 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
05. Vocalise-étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
06. Vocalise-etude, H. 70 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
07. Aria (arr. of Vocalise No. 2) (arr. A. Hoeree for alto saxophone and piano)
08. Vocalise étude en forme de bourrée (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
09. Vocalise, Op. 105 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
10. Maneh, chanson de Caickji sur le Bosphore (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
11. Vocalise, Op. 30 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
12. Vocalise-étude en forme de habanera (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
13. Vocalise-étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
14. Vocalise (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
15. Vocalise (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
16. Vocalise étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
17. Vocalise-étude, Ferveur (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
18. Vocalise-Étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
19. Vocalise-Étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
20. Vocalise-Etude, H. 188 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
21. Vocalise-étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
22. Vocalise-étude, FS 124 (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)
23. Vocalise-étude (arr. for alto saxophone and piano)

At an informal concert Edward Rushton and I gave while we were preparing to record these pieces, I asked the audience to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for one of the listeners. Afterwards I asked the audience to sing the same tune on the long vowel ‘a’. I then explained to the crowd that they had just sung a vocalise, a piece sung on a vowel. As we sang, we realized how difficult it is to sing a vocalise. Without the form-giving assistance of consonants, it becomes more challenging to produce a legato line or make an inconspicuous register change. Singing in tune also becomes more difficult. In fact, singing solely on a vowel magnifies most technical deficiencies. This is the reason singing instructors have been incorporating vocalises into their teaching for the last 250 years. The music obliges the singer to improve legato, intonation and breath support.

The earliest vocalises were songs, for example by Lully or Rameau, which arrangers published without text to provide the voice pupil with interesting study material. In the nineteenth century vocalises tended to be monotonous scalar exercises intended for warm-ups and the training of vocal technique.

Harry White, alto saxophone
Edward Rushton, piano

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