Miserere Mei Deus (Psalm 50). Gregorio Allegri (1582 - 1652).

Text and Illustration from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Gregorio Allegri Romano, Italian composer.

Creator: Caldwall, James, 1739-1819.

Engraver: Aquila, Francesco Faraone (1676 - 1740).

Medium: Etching.

Source: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?

(Wikimedia Commons)

Miserere Mei Deus,

by

Gregorio Allegri

(1582 - 1652).

Available on YouTube

at

http://youtu.be/Psf5Cqjpt7I.

Miserere, (full title: Miserere mei, Deus, Latin for "Have mercy on me, O God") by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of Psalm 51 (50) composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday of Holy Week.

The Miserere is written for two choirs, one of five voices and one of four voices, and is an example of Renaissance polyphony surviving to the present day. One of the choirs sings a simple version of the original Miserere chant; the other, spatially separated, sings an ornamented "commentary" on this. The piece is an example of the stile antico or prima pratica; however, its constant use of the dominant seventh chord and its emphasis on polychoral techniques certainly put it out of the range of prima pratica; a more accurate comparison would be to the works of Giovanni Gabrieli.

The Tenebrae service, where the Miserere would be sung, normally began at around 3 a.m. During the ritual, candles would be extinguished one by one, save for the last candle, which remained alight and was then hidden. Allegri composed his setting of the Miserere for the final act within the first Lesson of the Tenebrae service.