I am playing the Rachmaninoff Vocalise at my father’s memorial service on Saturday. My nephew has put together a pre-recorded accompaniment so I don’t have to hire or rehearse with an accompanist. I have decided to play it without either repeat, so at 39 bpm it comes to five minutes in length. That should be plenty of music for this occasion.
I am using the Leonard Sharrow edition “for Bassoon and Piano” (International Music, 1977) in the key of C minor. Rachmaninoff’s original is in C-sharp minor, but Anna Moffo sings it in C minor (recording available on YouTube), and that is good enough for me. It lies well under the fingers in this key and only ascends to high C. The bassoon part is in tenor clef throughout.
I try to breathe every two measures, except in the final phrase where I need an extra breath or two. I have added a few slurs and I take liberties with the printed dynamics to satisfy my own sense of phrasing. If I were to take the first repeat, I think I would cut off the whole note after three beats to give a little longer break before going back to the top.
The final note of the piece is quite long. If I feel like I’m not going to make it all the way to the end, I breathe after the whole note in m. 55 and add a pianissimo sixteenth note B-flat grace note before the half note in m. 56. Anna Moffo does this in her recording and I think it is quite beautiful and suits the moment.
The harmonies in the piano part are sometimes quite dense, but there are also a couple of misprints that cause unnecessary complexity. In m. 16 on the third beat, the sharp should be applied to the F not to the E. In m. 20, the bass clef is lacking in the left hand. In m. 38, I would ask the pianist to omit the trill and “schlag” in beat 4.
I recommend this piece to any bassoonist who needs a serious or somber solo. An advanced high-school student with good tenor clef skills and an in-tune high C could play it. It presents challenges in phrasing and breath control that are good for all of us to work on.