It was given its world premiere by the soprano Sylvia McNair and the New York Philharmonic under Masur at Avery Fisher Hall on November 11, 1999.
[1] In a pre-concert interview with Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times, Corigliano explained, "It starts with the first instrument, the voice, first humming, then intoning.
"[3] Peter G. Davis of New York similarly observed, "Apparently Corigliano wrote his Vocalise to suggest ways in which electronics may affect the future of musical performance by altering the acoustical properties of the human voice (here soprano Sylvia McNair) and a symphony orchestra.
It's not exactly an innovative concept -- Edgard Varèse did it all 45 years ago -- and Vocalise came off as a pretty crude piece of work, more a random collection of sound effects than music of substance.
"[4] Conversely, Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News called it "a marvelous 21-minute" work and opined, "'I wanted to write a piece for electronics that was beautiful to hear.'