Vocalises (Ivanovs)

Vocalises
by Jānis Ivanovs
Interior of St. Peter's Church, Riga, where the world premiere of the complete Vocalises took place in 2003.
Native name	Vokalīzes
Composed	1964–1982
Publisher	Musica Baltica
Duration	c. 34 minutes
Movements	14
Scoring	SATB chorus (a capella)
Premiere
Date	December 13 and 14, 2003 (as an integral cycle)
Location	St. Peter's Church Riga, Latvia
Conductor	Uldis Kokars [lv]
Performers	Ave Sol Chamber Choir [lv]

The Vocalises (Latvian: Vokalīzes; Russian: Вокализы, romanized: Vokalizy) are a set of fourteen pieces for SATB chorus a capella by Jānis Ivanovs. The first was "Rudens dziesma" (Autumn Song), composed in 1964. Through the encouragement of Imants Kokars, Ivanovs developed this and subsequent Vocalises into a cycle. The final one was composed in 1982, the year before the composer's death. Individual Vocalises were performed by choirs in Ivanovs' native Latvian SSR, as well as elsewhere in the Soviet Union, where they were received positively. The integral cycle was not performed in public until December 13 and 14, 2003; at the St. Peter's Church in Riga by the Ave Sol Chamber Choir [lv] conducted by Uldis Kokars [lv].