RACHMANINOFF: Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14; STOKOWSKI Anna Moffo

Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14 is a song by Sergei Rachmaninoff, published in 1912 as the last of his Fourteen Songs, Opus 34. Written for voice (soprano or tenor) with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, and is usually sung entirely to the vowel "ah". It was dedicated to soprano Antonina Nezhdanova. Although the original publication stipulates that the song may be sung by either soprano or tenor voice, it is virtually never performed by a tenor as the male voice's range (an octave lower than a soprano) would sound very odd in relation to the piano accompaniment. The range of the piece is high, going up to a high C-sharp (although Rachmaninoff offers an alternative version which only reaches high A). Conducted by: Leopold Stokowski; Featuring Anna Moffo (We appreciate Wikipaedia's contributions in the descriptions here)