Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 (1915)
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
Any Saxophone Solo with Piano

Vocalise, by Rachmaninoff, arranged for Saxophone Solo with Piano. Vocalise was originally written around 1912 and was published in 1915 as the last of a set of fourteen songs. The first thirteen songs were set to poems written by Russian romantic poets such as Pushkin. In contrast, the vocalise was written without words relying for its success entirely on the beauty of the melodic line. It quickly became the most successful song of the set and has remained one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular compositions. He made several arrangements including for solo piano, violin and piano and orchestra. The piece is in simple binary from with a short coda.

This arrangement of Vocalise Saxophone Solo is in the original key of C# minor. Other than the key, it is of moderate difficulty. The piano part is moderately advanced.

• The range for each saxophone part is shown below.
• Audio and score excerpts are available above.

About the Composer

Sergei Rachmaninoff (born March 20 [April 1, New Style], 1873, Oneg, near Semyonovo, Russia—died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.) was a composer and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. He was one of the last great figures of the tradition of Russian Romanticism. Rachmaninoff is especially known for his piano concerti and the piece for piano and orchestra titled Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). The Vocalise is one of his most well-known works.