#gregorio allegri

[flameaurasphere]

"Miserere mei, Deus” by Gregorio Allegri

Gregorio Allegri (c. 1582-1652) was a late Renaissance composer, best remembered for his ‘Miserere’ for two choirs. Allegri began singing in San Luigi dei Francesi before joining the Sistine Choir in 1629. Renaissance music was built upon plainchants, and is characterised by polyphony, imitation, motets, superimpositions, and overlapping cadences that convey flow, expressiveness, and devotion. ‘Miserere’ exemplifies Renaissance polyphony—one choir of five voices sings a fauxbourdon of a plainchant for the Tonus peregrinus, while the other choir of four voices supplies with elaborations and cadenzas, forming a 9-part polyphony.

Sistine Codex of 1661

‘Miserere’ is an acapella performed exclusively during Holy Week in the Sistine Chapel for ages. The church forbade it from being transcribed, so while the original 1661 codex might not reflect the true composition, it reveals the secret ornamentation practice of the olden Sistine Chapel Choir.

The Sistine Chapel Choir is a permanent choir in the chapel that never sings with instrument accompaniments. In this historical recording, a group of voices sings the plainchant, and then a second group of voices responds with elaboration. This repeats four times, as Allegri intended. The two choirs are distinct—even without video, one could picture that the second choir is singing far away at another end of a massive room. While I appreciated the contrast as it dynamised the plainchant, the upper voices in the second choir had drowned out the lower voices, resulting in an “airiness”. Nonetheless, the voices were well-blended and captured the essence of Renaissance music—the melodies flowed smoothly with no fixed tempo, and the music was expressive, whereby the soft tenor solos sounded pleading, but the choir in tutti sounded haunting. ‘Miserere’ means "Have mercy on me, O God" in Latin; fittingly, the acoustics of the chapel allowed their voices to echo, amplifying their devotion to God.

King’s College Choir 1963

The world-famous Choir of King’s College, Cambridge sings in the King’s College Chapel. This is one of the first modern recordings, conducted by David Willcocks and featured soloist Roy Goodman. It differs vastly from the original—during the 19th century, ‘Miserere’ was incorrectly transcribed, transposing the solo choir up a fourth.

Although sung in English, this version still preserved the smooth melodies and distribution of rubato in the original 1661 codex. However, it is more textured, dynamic, and exciting. The articulation of words is clearer; the tenors used a higher vocal placement to produce a more lightweight sound; the basses were audibly growing louder and softer, shaping a slow push-and-pull melody; the boy sopranos pierced through with their resonance and agility in the ornamented lines. Nevertheless, the pièce de resistance is boy treble Goodman’s breath-taking high notes during the second half of the four-voice falsobordone. Though his entry was a little shaky, the transition to the “top C” note was slick and precise, with a slight crescendo and close-to-none sliding. It is astonishing how Goodman sustained those notes—four times—without sounding strained; his pure and aethereal voice quality cannot be replicated by a female soprano. The high notes are my favourite part in contemporary ‘Miserere’, and I have yet to hear one as moving as Goodman

Ofra Harnoy

Ofra Harnoy is a widely celebrated classical cellist with over 40 solo albums. This recording is part of her ‘Back to Bach’ album, filled with Baroque favourites. Harnoy’s vision was to design a large cello ensemble by herself. To attain that effect, she harnessed the power of technology to overdub and produce multi-tracks.

I thought Harnoy’s work was innovative—the mixing and mastering were done so well that with eyes closed, her arrangement did seem like a grand cello ensemble. The tempo was a bit slower than the original 1661 codex and King’s College Choir 1963 recording, but that allowed the strings to ring longer, hence extending the crescendos and decrescendos. Additionally, the lower parts are more discernible than in the previous recordings. The rich bass and use of vibrato dramatised the music, creating a hauntingly beautiful and poignant experience. The high notes did not overpower, unlike in the King’s College Choir 1963 version, hence highlighting the polyphony.

One might think that Harnoy made her cello sing, but I felt that she transformed ‘Miserere’ into a cello piece. My only critique is that all the verses should have been recorded, to demonstrate how each verse differs in the embellishments—for example, the appoggiaturas sung by the higher sections.

Montechait

Montechait is a YouTuber who does piano cover videos and arrangements. He played on a Studiologic SL88 Studio keyboard, then produced and edited the audio using Pianoteq and Cubase software. 

The pitches were not the most precise in the original 1661 codex and King’s College 1963 recordings. Hence, the pitch-perfect keyboard demonstrated how the melodies could sit with one another to deliver chords that assert gloom. I enjoyed that the ending verse was in forte, emphasising the volume of a 9-part polyphony. But this performance lacked expressiveness, which is quintessential to Renaissance music. Despite Pianoteq being one of the greatest virtual instruments that simulate the playability of an acoustic instrument, the recording had a largely manufactured sound. Furthermore, the piano is limited in the expressive shaping of notes as it does not offer dynamic nuance or vibrato.

I learnt that every performer has a unique story to tell in ‘Miserere’—whether it is of worship by the Sistine Codex of 1661, of tradition by the King’s College Choir, of beauty by Ofra Harnoy’s soul-stirring cello, or melancholy by Montechait’s solemn keyboard. In my opinion, the key change from G minor to C minor—due to scribal error—echoes the famous saying: “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.” ~Bob Ross.

[churchofsatannews]

Vox Satanae - Episode #569: 15th-20th Centuries - Week of August 21, 2023

Vox Satanae – Episode #569 15th-20th Centuries We hear works by Loyset Compère, Gioseffo Zarlino, Gregorio Allegri, Johann Pachelbel, Michel Blavet, Jan Ladislav Dussek, William Sterndale Bennett, Eric Coates, and High Priest Peter H. Gilmore. 140 Minutes – Week of August 21, 2023 Stream Vox Satanae Episode 569. Download Vox Satanae Episode 569.

[married-to-a-redhead]

Miserere mei, Deus, Latin for "Have mercy on me, O God". Composed around 1638 during the reign of Pope Urban VIII.

“Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me.”

[operaportugues]

Moteto sacro completo com legenda em português: link. Versão musicada a cappella do Salmo 51 do compositor italiano Gregorio Allegri.

Composto por volta de 1630, o Miserere de Allegri era o mais popular dentre os cenários falsobordone usados pelo coro da Capela Sistina durante a liturgia da Semana Santa, uma prática que data de pelo menos 1514. 

Curiosidade: Em algum momento, vários mitos em torno desta peça vieram à tona, decorrentes provavelmente do fato de que a tradição renascentista de ornamentação praticada na Capela Sistina era praticamente desconhecida fora do Vaticano no momento em que a peça se tornou bem conhecida. A uma determinada altura, chegou a ter a transcrição de sua música proibida por lei, e só podia ser executada em serviços privados — o que aumentava o mistério em torno da obra. Este alegado sigilo é avançado por uma declaração frequentemente repetida de que havia apenas "três cópias autorizadas fora do Vaticano, detidas pelo Imperador Leopoldo I, o Rei de Portugal, e pelo Padre Martini".

[ghost-toast]

Why don't you go listen to the high C in Miserere Mei, Deus by Allegri and maybe you'll calm down

[marcogiovenale]

oggi, 8 ottobre: apertura speciale della biblioteca nazionale (roma): con visite guidate e laboratori

L’8 ottobre 2023, in occasione della Domenica di Carta 2023, la Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Roma sarà aperta al pubblico dalle 9:00 alle 19:00. Il programma prevede visite guidate sui tesori, sui servizi e sulle sale della Biblioteca, tra cui la Sala Italo Calvino, il museo della letteratura italiana Spazi900 e un laboratorio creativo per bambini (6 -11 anni). Inoltre l’Ufficio Conservazione…

[c-etait-ailleurs]

Gregorio Allegri - Miserere mei

[sgiandubh]

Maundy Thursday: Togetherness

Sidenote: these personal notes will exclusively deal with the Evening's Mass and the Last Supper. And they took such a long time to be written, because the farther we go on a path that is anything but easy, the more personal it gets.

This is the third time the lectionary takes us to the same fundamental episode, so rich with details that we are almost compelled to focus our gaze on a particularly eloquent point.

But why this focus on a clearly uneasy moment, that shows unrest and doubt seeping in as far and deep as amongst The Twelve? And knowing what we do know (that Destiny is at play, beyond any human power), how is this going to finally play out?

We are often impressed and perhaps almost blindsided by the banal absurdity of Judas' betrayal and Peter's powerless cowardice. How many Judas, how many Peter in our mundane lives, after all? And this is probably happening because we tend to focus and draw everything remotely spiritual towards our own selves, and less towards the collective, complicated Self that is any Christian community, irrespective of denominations.

This is the problem that Jesus' gesture of washing the feet of The Twelve aims to solve, by the sheer power of example. The survival of the message He is sent to deliver to the World is at stake, and this is perhaps how this short dialogue with Peter could be interpreted: 'Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me' (John 13:8).

And then he asks them a very simple and very difficult thing: 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another ' (John 13:34). Morally speaking, what he asks them to do is to set their ego aside for the sake of a greater goal, of a greater Good. Politically, he asks them to spread the Word and make It happen, build a Community.

They did what they could and they paid with their lives for it. Not only Those Twelve people, gathered around that Table, at that Supper, but many others, whose names are sometimes unjustly forgotten. And like around that Table, Evil and Greed and Doubt often seeped in. But the Story goes on and we do have the power to change it, one step at a time.

I am bringing back Aksel Rykkvin on this page, with Gregorio Allegri's Miserere mei, Deus, one of the most mysterious late Renaissance psalm interpretations. The deep secrecy around what was once reserved to the Sistine Chapel's choir only was outed by a child who was able to transcribe it from memory, after only one audition. The child's name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 42: Assorted Other Performances II

These Questions are the result of suggestions from the previous iteration.

All time periods welcome. (Yes we have Live Aid).

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration.

I am looking for Shakespeare play premiere's you'd particularly like to see.

Shakespeare Plays Have their own poll. For purposes of this poll, Early Modern will arbitrarily be 1500-1799.

[truthfultales]

- 5 Songs & 4 Outfits -

- | Athena Dekarios née Asteriadis | -

Songs

Ella, elle l'a by France Gall

Miserere by Gregorio Allegri, Tenebrae

Victoria - The Suite by Martin Phipps, Medieval Baebes

Renaissance by Paolo Buonvino

I Will Never Abandon You by Efisio Cross

Take a look at @elspethdekarios 's post!

I tag @gufu-vire

[nochoirliketheirsong]

Song #174

A beautiful piece of classical music, which has been the subject of various urban legends. One of these I was told when I first learned part of the piece for a choir performance in high school: The work was composed by composer Gregorio Allegri in the 1600's for use in the Vatican. The story goes that there were no copies of the sheet music available outside the Vatican , maybe to prevent 'unworthy' places also performing the piece? Some 150 years later, this plot was foiled by a teenaged Mozart, who heard the piece once while visiting and wrote out the entire score based on his memory.

This is of course bullshit, there was sheet music available and performances were held as far away as London years before Mozart was born, but it's a fun story!

[landrysg]

Have you heard Mass today?

Gregorio Allegri (1582 - 1652), Missa Vidi Turbam Magnam

Nicely performed by A Sei Voci

[married-to-a-redhead]

Sunday morning classical music

[operaportugues]

Moteto sacro com legenda em português: link. Versão musicada a cappella do Salmo 51 do compositor italiano Gregorio Allegri.

Composto por volta de 1630, o Miserere de Allegri era o mais popular dentre os cenários falsobordone usados pelo coro da Capela Sistina durante a liturgia da Semana Santa, uma prática que data de pelo menos 1514.

Curiosidade: Em algum momento, vários mitos em torno desta peça vieram à tona, decorrentes provavelmente do fato de que a tradição renascentista de ornamentação praticada na Capela Sistina era praticamente desconhecida fora do Vaticano no momento em que a peça se tornou bem conhecida. A uma determinada altura, chegou a ter a transcrição de sua música proibida por lei, e só podia ser executada em serviços privados — o que aumentava o mistério em torno da obra. Este alegado sigilo é avançado por uma declaração frequentemente repetida de que havia apenas "três cópias autorizadas fora do Vaticano, detidas pelo Imperador Leopoldo I, o Rei de Portugal, e pelo Padre Martini".

[projectiondepartment]

this is the ra formula to wipe everything away

[marcogiovenale]

biblioteca nazionale (roma): apertura di domenica 8 ottobre, con visite guidate e laboratori

L’8 ottobre 2023, in occasione della Domenica di Carta 2023, la Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Roma sarà aperta al pubblico dalle 9:00 alle 19:00. Il programma prevede visite guidate sui tesori, sui servizi e sulle sale della Biblioteca, tra cui la Sala Italo Calvino, il museo della letteratura italiana Spazi900 e un laboratorio creativo per bambini (6 -11 anni). Inoltre l’Ufficio Conservazione…