As the season of Lent begins our Choral Scholars performed the infamous Allegri’s Miserere at our Ash Wednesday service.
The Allegri’s Miserere is described as one of the most beautiful pieces of choral music ever written. Composed by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, it is a nine-voice setting of Psalm 51: Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misercordiuam tuam (‘Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness’).
The story begins in Rome in 1632, where Allegri was a singer in the Sistine Chapel Choir. When Pope Urban VIII heard the piece, he forbode it to ever be transcribed and to only be sung in Rome to preserve its mystery and beauty.
In 1770, Leopold Mozart took his young son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to hear the piece. Mozart famously transcribed it note for note and allowed the legendary piece to be heard by the rest of the world. The transcript was passed on to Dr Charles Burney who published it in London in 1771.
It was then heard by Felix Mendelssohn who in 1831 made his own transcript. This is where the beautiful top C note was added to be sung by a treble soloist, which quickly became the most famous and moving passage of the piece.
The Allegri’s Miserere was sung by our Choral Scholars in our Ash Wednesday service. Singing one of the highest notes in the entire choral repertoire – the top C – was Sophie Stringfellow who has been a Choral Scholar at the Cathedral for over a year. Her singing was exceptional, along with the rest of the choir!
What joyous and moving way to start the season of Lent.