Lemoine Vassilieva Elena - Vocalises Minute - CONTRE-ténor Ou HAUTE-contre & Piano

Summary of This Method

These vocalises have been conceived as a laboratory for vocal technique and stage freedom, aiming to push the voice toward greater virtuosity, flexibility, and precision within a contemporary compositional style. The proposed work covers essential fundamentals (large intervals, extended ambitus, chromaticism, speed) while incorporating rarer parameters such as quarter tones, glissandi, pianissimo tenuti, and decrescendos carried down to a "fil di voce." The goal is to train the vocal instrument to remain beautiful, stable, and expressive even in extreme technical contexts.

The rhythmic dimension is also very prominent: the singer learns to maintain a constant internal pulse, even when melody and text articulation impose complex constraints. Tenuti become a playground for imagination by allowing the text to be set ad libitum, while breath management explores breaths that are sometimes imperceptible, sometimes deliberately audible, up to sound-noise effects evoking sonic "ghosts." Special attention is given to "in-mouth" articulation, lip placement, and internal acoustic sensations to better control projection, high and super-high notes, and the overall balance of emission.

The method also opens the door to numerous vocal effects and sound gestures: aggregates or arpeggios, laughter, crying, rauco, breathy sounds, lip noises, tongue clicks, glottal vibrato, hand in front of the mouth, rolled tongue, and a wide emphasis on sprechgesang. The performer is invited to develop a strong stage presence, play with phonemes, and adopt an attitude that is playful, inventive, and rigorous, notably through learning about twenty effects and their cryptograms.

A particular focus is dedicated to countertenor and haute-contre voices: the collection highlights their aesthetic and "pyrotechnic" capabilities, relying on a classical foundation (non-vibrato, Baroque ornaments) while sliding toward contemporary sound dramaturgy. Some vocalises are designed for solo voice without accompaniment, in several languages (German, Latin, Italian, French). Others include piano and are based on familiar stylistic modes, with texts in English, Italian, and French. The content notably includes: I. O solitude, II. Erbarme dich, III. Sweet nightingale, IV. Infirmata, vulnerata, V. Nacht und Träume, VI. Eternita, VII. Puisque j'ai mis ma lèvre, VIII. Bella amorosa, IX. Artabano, X. Alto giove.

Technical specifications

Publication

Methods

Instrumentation	solo voice (unaccompanied) and voice with piano	Language	German, Latin, Italian, French, English
Genre	singing method, contemporary vocalises	Difficulty	advanced (experienced singers)