In the 19th century, vocalises - pieces of music sung on vocals - were mainly composed for singing lessons in order to methodically develop breath phrasing, intonation security and vocal shaping. With Mendelssohn's piano cycle Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words), a purely instrumental form of vocalise was established, transforming the originally pedagogical approach into an artistic ambition.

This newly developed art form inspired composers such as Fauré, Ravel, Stravinsky, Villa-Lobos and Rachmaninov to write catchy pièces, which were widely disseminated both vocally and instrumentally under the French name Vocalise.

Following this tradition, Bertold Hummel composed this piece for the birthday of one of his sons and immediately reveals which anniversary was being celebrated - the number of bars in the piece corresponds to the son's age (although it should be noted that an original ten-bar da capo was notated out for practical reasons).

Hummel's Vocalise is available in four editions: for voice, for oboe, for clarinet or soprano saxophone and for alto saxophone, each with piano accompaniment.