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Misierere Mei, Deus - Gregorio Allegri

⏱️ Approx Reading Time: mins

Even to those who don’t frequent classical music circles let alone those of sacred choral music from the 1600’s, will have heard this music sung in one way or another. Incredibly, this piece was performed exclusively in the Sistine Chapel for over 100 years!

The Pope at the time, Urban VIII, loved this piece so much he forbid it to be performed anywhere else. Not only that, transcription was forbidden. Over the years, choirs made unwritten changes to the music which caused it to evolve over time.

So where did the version we hear today come from?

Enter Wolfie

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or Wolfie as I affectionate call him, visited Italy with his Pa in 1770 where he heard this piece sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir. At this time, Wolfie was 15 years old. So what did 15 year old Wolfie do? When he got back to his room that evening, he transcribed the ENTIRE 12 minute long, nine voice piece, FROM MEMORY. I’m sure Leopold (his Pa) got a cracking night sleep that night. This shouldn’t be surprising, he composed his first piece of music 10 years prior.

The next day Wolfie and Leo popped back into the chapel to hear the piece sung again, just to make sure his transcription was correct. Apparently he even made corrections to the score on the fly.

A gift to the world

The following year Wolfie met on Dr. Charles Burney FRS, a music historian and biographer from England. Wolfie gave the transcription (naughty Wolfie) to Charles. He took the score back to London and had it published. Not sure how Uban VIII felt about this, but he was probably pissed. Anyway, this resulted in the ban being lifted.

And so today we can listen to recordings of this exquisite piece of music in our own home.

Miserere Mie Deus

About the composition

I figured I’d jot down some thoughts about the piece here. Firstly, it’s worth knowing what the singing is about. It’s essentially a setting to psalm 51. I’ll openly admit I know very little about Christian writings, but I get the gist from the Latin translation.

The title literally translates from Latin as ‘Forgive me my god’. This is more commonly translated as ‘Have mercy upon me, O God’ as per the psalm. The lyrics, or writing, focus on asking the lord for mercy. Please don’t get angry as my 11 word explanation of an entire psalm, it’s the best I’ve got.

As a piece of music

Allegri’s composition is exquisite. The use of two choir groups, of four and five voices, alternating is beautiful and the summation of all nine voices at the end is superb. It’s one of the best know examples of early polyphony.

There is a stand out section where a high C is sung and sustained, perfect for showing off the virtuosic talent of whoever is landed with this part.

There’s way more to it and I’m still learning as I listen. This is just my interpretation of the music as someone with no musical training; I’m pure listener.

What I like

I love the harmonies and use of echoes in this piece. The melodies within the music are so soft and subdued you feel like you’re surrounded by clouds…turn the lights off for more immersion just like Urban VIII did. The soprano vocals are simply beautiful and the accompanying baritone singers build a tremendous foundation.

I’m not religious at all but I feel the emotions of this piece and think it can be a great listen for relaxing or introspection. It’s a great example of the early Baroque music which built on the renaissance style but introduced more expression.

That’s a lot for 00:19 on a Thursday morning, but c’est la vie!

Niall

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