Psalm 50 (Miserere). One Of The Penitential Psalms.

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Psalm 50 (Greek numbering), traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: "Have mercy on me, O God".

The Psalm's opening words in Latin, Miserere mei, Deus, have led to it being called the "Miserere Mei" or, even, just "Miserere". It is often known by this name in musical settings.

Allegri's "Miserere". 

Performed by "Pro Cantione Antiqua" in 1985.

Listen on YouTube at http://youtu.be/pPdXtPP0iRM

Latin translation of Psalm 50 (Miserere mei, Deus).

Traditional Latin translation, translated from the Septuagint Greek:

Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper.

Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris.
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi.
Asperges me hysopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.

Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.
Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.

Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur.
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.
Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.

Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem.
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

Mozart, circa 1780. 

Detail from a portrait by Johann Nepomuk della Croce.

Mozart, allegedly, heard Allegri's Miserere, once, 

and went home and wrote down the entire Score from memory.

Artist: Johann Nepomuk della Croce (1736-1819).

Date: 1780 - 1781.

Current location: Mozart House, Salzburg, Austria.

Source/Photographer: [1].

This File: December 2005.

User: Kasta33.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English translation of Psalm 50.

This version is from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer translation of the masoretic Hebrew text.

Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness
According to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences.
Wash me throughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me.

Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified in Thy saying, and clear when Thou art judged.
Behold, I was shapen in wickedness: and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts: and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.

Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.
Turn Thy face from my sins: and put out all my misdeeds.
Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and stablish me with Thy free Spirit.
Then shall I teach Thy ways unto the wicked: and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou that art the God of my health: and my tongue shall sing of Thy righteousness.

Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew Thy praise.
For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it Thee: but Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise.
O be favourable and gracious unto Sion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness,
with the burnt-offerings and oblations:
then shall they offer young calves upon Thine altar.

Liturgical use.

The Psalm is frequently used in various Liturgical traditions because of its spirit of humility and repentance.

Judaism.

In Judaism, several verses from this Psalm are given prominence:

The entire Psalm is recited in the Arizal's rite of the bedtime Shema on weekdays, and is also part of the regular tikkun chatzot prayers.

Verse 13 (11 in the KJV), "Cast me not away from thy presence...", forms a central part of the selichot services.

Verse 17 (15 in the KJV), "O Lord, open thou my lips...", is recited as a preface to the Amidah, the central prayer in Jewish services.

Verse 20 (18 in the KJV), "Do good in thy will unto Zion...", is recited in the Ashkenazic liturgy as the Torah is removed from the Ark before being read on Sabbath and festivals.

The Psalm is recited along with Parshat Parah, the Torah portion describing the ritual of the "red heifer" that is read in preparation for Passover.

Orlande de Lassus (1535-1594). Composer. 

Wrote an elaborate Setting of the Miserere, in the 16th-Century, 

as part of his "Penitential Psalms".

Artist: Da Massmil.

Date: After 1593.

Current location: Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, Bologna, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica (Bologna).

Other Versions: scanned from Robbins-Landon, H.C. & Norwich, J.J. 

"Five Centuries of Music in Venice" New York: Schirmer Books, 1991. p. 45.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Christianity.

As a Penitential Psalm, Psalm 50 is one of the most frequently used Psalms in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. 

It is typically included during the Mystery of Repentance (corresponding to the Sacrament of Confession), in personal daily prayers, and many of the Liturgical Services. The various Services of the Daily Office may be combined into three aggregates (evening, morning and noonday), and are so arranged that Psalm 50 is read during each aggregate.

In the Agpeya, Coptic Church's Book of Hours, it is recited at every Office throughout the day as a Prayer of Confession and Repentance.

In Western Christianity, Psalm 50 is also used Liturgically.

Verse Seven of the Miserere is sung as the Priest sprinkles Holy Water 

over the Congregation before the main Mass on Sundays. 

The Rite is known as "The Asperges".

Listen to the "Asperges me Domine" 

on YouTube on http://youtu.be/53QT2gsuwBc

In the Roman Catholic Church, this Psalm may be assigned by a Priest to a Penitent as a Penance after Confession. Verse 7 of the Psalm is traditionally sung as the Priest sprinkles Holy Water over the Congregation before Mass, in a Rite known as "The Asperges me", the first two words of the verse in Latin. It also is prayed during Lauds (Morning Prayer) every Friday in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Psalm 50 was recited by Lady Jane Grey before her beheading at the Tower of London in 1554.

A section of Verse 17 is often used as the Invitatory Antiphon at the Liturgy of the Hours.

Psalm 50 is associated with Ash Wednesday as a Scripture Reading in both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Roman Catholic Lectionary.

In Orthodox Christianity, Psalm 50 (as numbered in the Septuagint) is used in the Holy Services. It starts, "Gr: (Ἐλεήμων) Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεός", and is specifically recited by the Priest during the Divine Liturgy, when he Censes the Holy Altar and the Iconostasis before the Great Entrance.

Musical Settings.

The "Miserere" was a frequently-used text in Catholic Liturgical Music before Vatican II. Most of the settings, which are often used at Tenebrae, are in a simple falsobordone style. During the Renaissance, many composers wrote settings.

The earliest known polyphonic setting, probably dating from the 1480s, is by Johannes Martini, a composer working in the Este court in Ferrara. The extended polyphonic setting by Josquin des Prez, probably written in 1503/1504 in Ferrara, was likely inspired by the prison meditation, Infelix ego, by Girolamo Savonarola, who had been burned at the stake just five years before.

English: Portrait of Carlo Gesualdo.

Русский: Карло Джезуальдо (прижизненный портрет).

Gesualdo wrote a Setting of the Miserere (Psalm 50).

Date: 16th-Century.

Source: Public Domain.

Author: Anonymous.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Later, in the 16th-Century, Orlande de Lassus wrote an elaborate setting as part of his Penitential Psalms, and Palestrina, Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Carlo Gesualdo also wrote settings. Antonio Vivaldi may have written a setting or settings, but such composition(s) have been lost, with only two introductory motets remaining. Settings were also written by Johann Sebastian Bach, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Saverio Selecchy.

One of the best-known settings of the Miserere is the 17th-Century version by Roman School composer,  Gregorio Allegri. According to a famous story, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, aged only fourteen, heard the piece performed once, on 11 April, 1770, and, after going back to his lodging for the night, was able to write out the entire score from memory. He went back a day or two later with his draft to correct some errors.  That the final Chorus comprises a ten-part Harmony, underscores the prodigiousness of the young Mozart's musical genius. The piece is also noteworthy in having numerous High Cs in the Treble solos.

Modern composers, who have written notable settings of the Miserere, include Michael Nyman, Arvo Pärt, and James MacMillan. The album "Salvation" (2003), by the group Funeral Mist, included the song "In Manus Tuas", which used verses 3–16 in Latin from Psalm 51. Also, the Antestor song, "Mercy Lord", from the album Martyrium (1994), also cites Psalm 51. The song "White As Snow", by Jon Foreman, from his Winter EP, includes lines from Psalm 51. In the Philippines, the Bukas Palad Music Ministry include their own version of "Miserere" in their album "Christify" (2010).

Egyptian parallels.

Parallels between the Ancient Egyptian ritual text, Opening of the mouth ceremony, and Psalm 50, are pointed out in "Psalm 50 and the 'Opening of the Mouth' Ceremony," by Benjamin Urrutia, Scripta Hierosolymitana: Publications of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, volume 28, pages 222-223 (1982).

The parallels include:
Mention of ritual washing with special herbs (Psalm 51:2,7).
Restoration of broken bones (verse 8).
"O Lord, open Thou my lips" (verse 15).
Sacrifices (verses 16,17, 19).