Miserere (Allegri)
Gregorio Allegri composed his setting of Psalm 51 during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, likely in the 1630s. The work was created for exclusive use within the Sistine Chapel during Tenebrae services of Holy Week. It stands as one of the most recognized examples of polyphony from that era. The piece is written for three choirs with specific vocal arrangements. Two choirs consist of five and four voices respectively while a third choir sings plainsong responses. These groups sing alternately before joining to perform the ending together. This structure creates a nine-part rendition that remains enduringly popular today.
A letter dated the 14th of April 1770 describes how fourteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart heard the piece during a Wednesday service in Rome. He reportedly wrote it down entirely from memory later that same day. Leopold Mozart sent this account to his wife but included confusing statements that cast doubt on the story. Copies of the Miserere were actually available in Rome and frequently performed elsewhere including London by c. 1735. By the 1760s the Academy of Ancient Music considered it one of their most usually performed works. Less than three months after transcribing the piece Mozart received the Chivalric Order of the Golden Spur from Pope Clement XIV on the 4th of July 1770.
Pietro Alfieri published an edition in 1840 that included ornamentation to preserve performance practices of the Sistine choir. The original ornamentations were Renaissance techniques closely guarded by the Vatican and virtually unknown outside its walls. Felix Mendelssohn transcribed the work in 1831 while Franz Liszt created another version around the same period. Few written sources showed these ornamentations even Charles Burney's accounts lacked detail. This lack of documentation helped create the legend surrounding the work's mystery. Various other 18th and 19th century sources survive with or without ornamentation attached.
William Smyth Rockstro published a version in the first edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians in 1880. Robert Haas later combined this with the first verse of Burney's 1771 edition in 1932. Ivor Atkins released his English translation in 1951 replacing the Latin text with Miles Coverdale's version from the Book of Common Prayer. A recording based upon this translation by the Choir of King's College Cambridge popularized the piece globally. Performances of the whole work usually last between 12 and 14 minutes today.
An early celebrated Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide recording came from March 1963 by the Choir of King's College Cambridge conducted by David Willcocks. The performance was sung in English and featured then-treble Roy Goodman on BBC Radio 3's Breakfast programme on the 17th of October 2011. In 2015 the Sistine Chapel Choir released their first CD including the 1661 Sistine codex version recorded inside the chapel itself. December 2008 saw BBC Four broadcast Sacred Music: The Story of Allegri's Miserere presented by Simon Russell Beale with a performance by The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christophers.
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Common questions
When did Gregorio Allegri compose his setting of Psalm 51?
Gregorio Allegri composed his setting of Psalm 51 during the reign of Pope Urban VIII likely in the 1630s. The work was created for exclusive use within the Sistine Chapel during Tenebrae services of Holy Week.
How old was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he heard Gregorio Allegri's Miserere in Rome?
A letter dated the 14th of April 1770 describes how fourteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart heard the piece during a Wednesday service in Rome. He reportedly wrote it down entirely from memory later that same day.
Who published an edition of Gregorio Allegri's Miserere with ornamentation in 1840?
Pietro Alfieri published an edition in 1840 that included ornamentation to preserve performance practices of the Sistine choir. The original ornamentations were Renaissance techniques closely guarded by the Vatican and virtually unknown outside its walls.
Which recording popularized Gregorio Allegri's Miserere globally using an English translation?
Ivor Atkins released his English translation in 1951 replacing the Latin text with Miles Coverdale's version from the Book of Common Prayer. A recording based upon this translation by the Choir of King's College Cambridge popularized the piece globally.
When did the Sistine Chapel Choir release their first CD including the 1661 Sistine codex version?
In 2015 the Sistine Chapel Choir released their first CD including the 1661 Sistine codex version recorded inside the chapel itself. This release marked a significant moment for preserving the authentic sound of the work.