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MISERERE MEI, DEUS

GREGORIO ALLEGRI

ues for the oly rail? BEN BYRAM-WIGFIELD

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© Ben Byram-WigeldRevi ed , , , ,

All right re erved.

De igned and type et by Ben Byram-Wigeld

A performing edition i produ ed a a ompanion tothi e ay, a the re ult of the re ear h.

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Ben Byram-Wigeld wa born in Hereford hire in

, and rs di overed Allegri’ Mi erere mei a ahoriser at King’ College, Cambridge, where heang the top C of thi famou work. After leaving

the King’ S hool, Wor eser, he be ame a horalholar at St Mary’ Cathedral, Edinburgh whils

sudying for a B.S . from Heriot Watt Univer ity.He ub equently ang a a lay lerk at Glou eserCathedral, and ha in e produ ed many edition

of early hur h mu i .

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MISERERE MEI, DEUS

GREGORIO ALLEGRI

ues for the oly rail?

ontent

ntroducion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

e anu ript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

e oly rail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

emaining uesion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ummary and hronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

os ript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

our e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

u i al ppendi e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iography of llegri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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ACKNOWLEDGEMEN S

I hould like to thank the Bibliote a Aposoli a Vati ana andthe Briti h Mu eum for making the manu ript available;al o Philip Coll and Dr. Simon Ander on for their a ademiin ight and help.

Figure :

. Engraving of the Sisine Chapel by Filippo Juvara, . Bibliote a Aposoli a Vati ana , f . Engraved portrait of Gregorio Allegri, th (Anon.)

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ntroducion

G Allegri ( - ) wa a inger in the Papal Chapel from

th De ember , until hi death on th February . He ialmos ex lu ively known for hi fal obordone etting of P alm

(Vulgate P alm ), the Mi erere mei, de pite numerou other ompo ition .Mos will know thi horal work for it haunting top C, ung by a lone voi e,and the weeping harmony of the larger hoir, eparated by imple plain hant.But Allegri’ original i far removed from thi re eived ver ion, o what hahappened over the year to tran form the work?

Hisory beguile u with tale of e ret ornamentation —the o- alledabbellimenti — never written down, but imply pa ed from performer toperformer. Many have expounded on the pie e’ beauty and uniquene , andlegend tell that unauthori ed opying of the work wa an ex ommuni ableoffen e. It wa de rigeur for tho e on the Grand our in the th entury tohear the work during Holy Week. Mozart i uppo ed to have opied the work after hearing it performed. However, no opy urvive by hi hand.

Although rumour of the work’ inauthenti ity are be oming more om-

mon, very few people have heard the work performed differently, and evenfewer will be o bold a to ugges exacly what a repla ement hould be. Tat having been aid, many people will prefer the ‘top C’ ver ion, and not

are whether it i authenti or not.My intention i to look rsly at the manu ript our e for thi work in

both the Bibliote a Aposoli a Vati ana and the Briti h Library, ee howthe pie e ha been written throughout it hisory, and then draw on lu ionfrom the mu i . Finally, an authenti edition i produ ed, to how in modern

notation how the work would have been ung. In telling the hisory of thipie e of mu i , I hope to remove the hroud that ha loaked the work in eit in eption, and let only the truth remain.

B B -W

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llegri’s iserere

e anu ript V ( A )

Te idea of etting thi parti ular text a a fal obordone , alternating two hoirof ve and four voi e between ver e of plain ong wa oined by ConsanzoFesa, ( . - ) in . Sub equently, the format wa attempted byPalesrina, Anerio, Nanino, Guerrero and other , before Allegri ompo edhi ver ion. Te e ompanion volume are a ompilation of twelve u h

etting , and are dated by a mention of the reigning pontiff, Alexander ,( - ). M give the year more pre i ely a , nine year

Allegri’ death. Aleri (ee below

) give a date for the ompo ition of .M ontain ver e , , , and of ea h different etting, with

ontaining ver e , , , , and . Te las ver e, , i ontained in both,a all nine voi e ing together in thi ver e.

Te work i a fal obordone , alternating between a ve part and four parthoir, ea h eparated by plain ong. Te original part requirement, taken

from the lef i and , and would be performed one voi e to ea hpart. Te lef give no indi ation of tran po ition, and the work i e entially

homophoni , with ome rhythmi interes. Te rs hord of ea h ver ei pee h rhythm, ung to a many word a ne e ary. Te rs vv hoirontain a number of u pen ion whi h lead toward the nal aden e, a

doe the e ond vv hoir, who e other main feature i the sriking th hord, with a dimini hed th between the upper part , eventually re olving into DMajor. Te e ond hoir ontain no top C, but merely a low de ent froma treble E at to the nal aden e. Te las ver e ha all nine voi e ingingtogether. Te work ha alway been a o iated with Holy Week, a P alm

feature in the Liturgy for Laud on Maundy Tur day and Good Friday,ommonly alled enebrae —darkne — from Luke’ Go pel, : : ‘andthere wa a darkne over all the earth’.

V ( A )

Almos one hundred year after the on eption of Allegri’ original, thimanu ript appear in a volume dated , ribed by Johanne Domini deBiondini. Tree other people are al o mentioned; Clement , Pope from

to ; Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni ( - ), the well-known patronof mu i ian ; and An ano Bernini, Maser of the Papal Chapel.

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Te work i learly marked with Allegri’ name on the rs page of mu i , yet there are a number of differen e . Te rs tenor part ha be ome anothertreble part, and ome of the ba note are hanged to provide a more effeciveharmony. Tere i al o more movement in the harmony, and ome ornamenta-tion, in luding a uriou C at one point. It i here that the marvellou hordof C minor with a minor th and th i introdu ed, before the a ade oftreble third . Ti mat he Allegri’ own di ordant moment in the e ond

hoir. Te work al o take on a mu h more polyphoni haracer, but thepee h rhythm i retained. Allegri’ original part requirement return for

the las ver e. Te syle of print i relatively ar hai , and the mu i i writtenout in part . Curiou ly, no part exis for the e ond hoir. Biondini waal o to write & in . Te e ontain the vv and vv hoir ,re pecively, of both Bai’ and Allegri’ etting .

C B ( - )

La mu i a he i anta annualmente nelle Funzioni della Settimana SantCappella Ponti ale . ( A )

Ti printed book i important, a it how a variation from any of the . Te rs hoir i a further reworking of , year later, with theharmony lightly more omplex than before. However, the e ond hoir i

impler than Allegri’ original, and doe not in lude theabbellimenti . TelegendSi Canto il Mercoledi e Venerdi Santo Mi erere del Signor Gregorio Allegrii vi ible on the rs page of mu i , howing that it wa ung on Wedne dayand Friday of Holy Week.

Ea h ver e of ea h hoir i harmoni ally identi al, wherea haa number of differen e between ver e . An attempt to notate the pee hrhythm i made only in the rs ver e of ea h hoir; after that, ub equent

ver e give the indi ationCanto Fermo above the pee h rhythm.Te e ondhoir i even more bare than Allegri’ original, omitting ome u pen ion

and the sriking th hord. In the las ver e we nd the insrucion Quesoultimo ver o i anta Adagio e Piano, morzando a po o a po o l’Armon

Te book al o ontain Bai’ etting of the ame text, ung on Maundy Tur day, whi h i remarkably imilar to other eighteenth entury our e ,a well a Palesrina’Stabat Mater, Improperia (Reproa he ) andFratre ego,

whi h were ung a a p alm in Ma , at the Adoration of the Cro , and on ue day of Holy Week re pecively.

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llegri’s iserere

B L

Bought by me at Rome in the Cor o, . Frederi k Blayde , Ch. C Ti opy i all but identi al to Vati an and , but ored and

ollated. Te only differen e i that the pee h rhythm ha been writtenout in a very deliberate syle in all but a few ver e . Interesingly enough,the pee h rhythm here i on isent with that pre ent el ewhere. Allegri’author hip i learly sated.

B L

Mu i a Cla i a [ i ]by everal Maesri della Cappella Vati ana, opied byGiovanni Jubilli.

Ti ored sart off a before, with the rs ver e a opy of Vati an , and the vv hoir i in keeping with Allegri’ original. However, the

opy i not omplete: he allow one more rs hoir ver e, and then a quitedifferent e ond hoir ver e before the las part ver e. Ti vv ver e i ver eeleven of omma o Bai’ etting of the Mi erere . An organ part i writtenout for ea h ver e, being a implereducio partiturae .

B L

Te srucure of thi Mi erere i the ame a that of Allegri’ , being ikey & with a imilar modulation, although not o mu h lled interna probably the in orrec opy mentioned by Hawkin , vol. p. . See by Burney.

Te above remark i ontained in the Briti h Library atalogue. Indeed, iti unquesionably a imilar work to Allegri’ , but rather than being a wrong

opy, I would ugges that it i a deliberate tran lation for the need of ale re our eful hoir. Te pie e i now four-part throughout, being ored

in every ver e. Te mu i ha al o reverted to a more hordal nature. Te referen e to Hawkin i to A General Hisory of the S ien e and Praci Mu ic, publi hed in by Sir John Hawkin ( - ). In it, he mentionthat mos opie of the Allegri are in orrec, but I take thi to mean thatthey la k theabbellimenti .

B L

Collecion of Compo ition written for the hur h of Rome in the am Ti i a th entury opy belonging to Rev. Edward Goddard, believed

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to be in the hand of Santini. Surpri ingly for o late a opy, it i identi al,ave for a light hange in underlay to the Vati an and , ored

and ollated. It i igni ant that thi ver ion hould sill be punted aboutin the th entury, at a time when the more ontrivedabbellimenti were allthe rage. (See Other Sour e .)

B L ( A ) Ti ored our e i lised a an th entury of Bai’ etting, opied byBenedetto Morganti, brought ba k from Rome by Jo eph Warren, althoughthe atalogue note that it i different from Bai’ etting a reported by Burney.

A wift glan e how it to be innitely more than that. It i learly not Bai’etting, but Allegri’ . Te mu i re emble and a all other thentury our e have done. However, both hoir are highly ornamented with

trill , run , and other adornment , and there are al o ome extreme dynamiindi ation . In the rs hoir, they elaborate on the movement already pre entin , and in the e ond hoir, they run amongs the held note in thetwo treble part , ea h taking hi trill in turn.

Te ornament , are lear in their effec and intention, if a little un ertainin their notation. However, the rs half of thi hoir learly mirror thetop C ver ion, whi h i taken from Aleri’ notation (ee below). Te

lentando indi ation in thi rs half i mat hed in Aleri by an elongationof the lower part to a ommodate the rs treble’ run, whi h in lude aC in both, e hoing the imilar ornament in the rs hoir. Ea h ver e ofea h hoir di play identi al ornament . However, the las ver e i totallyunadorned, and i identi al to Allegri’ original.

On the next folio, a e ond ver ion follow whi h i a imilar ver ion ofthe ame thing. Te ornament are very imilar, and in all the ame pla e , with a few light variation , but the nal ver e ha been adapted, with onlyone tenor part. Ti ver ion i wor e alligraphi ally but learer mu i ally.

P A ( - )

In , Ale andro Geminiani, anom de plume for Pietro Aleri, pub-li hed Il Salmo Mi erere poso in mu i a da Gregorio Allegri e da ommaPubli ato ogli Abbellimenti per la prima volta. A pries in Rome, he taught

Gregorian hant and on isently tried to ave the mu i al heritage of theVati an from modern inuen e . Hi failure at thi ta k, in hi eye , and the

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llegri’s iserere

Chur h’ refu al to publi h hi plain ong book , made him lo e hi mindtoward the end of hi life. However, thi volume hould be thought of a a

u e ful attempt to ave the pas. A lengthy introducion announ e thatthe e work are two of the mos beautiful a red ompo ition ever written,and a u h, hould be made publi , e pe ially be au e of ‘inexac opie …

without explanation ’. Aleri believe him elf to be ‘doing a kindne tolover of a red mu i ’.

He further inform the reader that the work are pre ented unadorned, with the abbellimenti in appendi e , marked A, B, C, D & E, ea h letterbeing pla ed in the ore at the relevant point . Breve at the sart of ver e

hould not be taken literally, but ung to the nature of the word , and heal o tell u that the Papal Choir ‘ onvert G into B diapa on’. I take thi tomean that the work are tran po ed up a third, upported by Mendel ohn’tran ription of , whi h ugges that they ang it up a fourth. In re ent

year , he onde , they have ung mixture of both work , a follow . Forboth work , Bai’ rs ver e wa followed by Allegri’ Ampliu (ver e ). Teother ver e were ung a intended in ea h, although Bai’ -parttun impo-nent (the las ver e) follow that of Allegri’ in Allegri’ ver ion. Ti mixingof the two work mus be the au e of the onfu ion between them.

Allegri’ ver ion i pre ented sraightforwardly, and i , again, a in Vati-an and . Te rs hoir i not ornamented at all, and the e -

ond hoir ornament ontain imilar element to tho e found in . Appendi e A & B give the ornament for the rs and e ond half of ea h ver e in Allegri’ ver ion re pecively, whils all the appendi e feature inBai’ ver ion. A, C & D are all imilar rendition for the rs half: B & Eare imilar ending for the e ond half of both etting . All the ornamentare e entially imilar, and all follow tho e in .

J A

Juliu Amann’ ommendable sudy, Allegri Mi erere und die Auffuhrung-praxi in der Sixtina, ( ) i a detailed re ord of all our e of Allegri’

Mi erere , variation in ornamentation and notation of pee h rhythm. De pitethi re ord, he only produ ed one edition of the work, a rendering of Allegri’original ompo ition without ornamentation from & , with note

value halved. Te book give a German our e for it re ord of the orna-mentation, whi h i almos identi al to that found in .

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‘ C’ V

Te re eived ver ion, a it i widely held today, i a mix of Burney’ rshoir with a bizarre e ond hoir, ongealed into life in the rs edition of

Grove’ Dicionary of Mu i & Mu i ian in . A an illusrated example, W.S. Ro ksro howed the rs half of the four-part ver e a indi ated by Aleri, but then si k Mendel ohn’ re ord of the rs half —up afourth— on the e ond half of the ver e. Ivor Atkin , for hi edition of

, took Burney’ rs hoir and nal ver e, adding thi e ond hoir fromGrove’ . Te problem i that the Mendel ohnabbellimenti i al o a re ordof the rs half, apparently ung a fourth higher than written at the time ofhi vi it. It i thi that au e mu i ologis to quirm with the ba jumpingfrom an F up to a C, followed by the wift gear hange into C minor. Tierror ha been repeated in two ub equent edition , produ ed by re peceda ademi .

Te re ult i srangely beautiful, and probably here to say. It i , after all,one of the mos popular pie e of a red mu i . However, it i neither arepre entation of the performan e praci e of the Sisine Chapel hoir, nora true reecion of how the pie e wa ever ung there.

O S Tere are a great many manu ript of the Mi erere in librarie a ro Europe;perhap that i half the problem. Te Vati an, however, i the pla e to whi h

we hould draw our attention. M , i an autograph ollecion of ompo i-tion by Johanne Biordi ( - ), Maser of the Papal Chapel from until , whi h al o in lude Allegri’ Mi erere for voi e , before hi own

etting of the text, whi h ha two hoir of voi e before a nal voi elas ver e. Te e ond hoir i found in , a book of Ma e , Motet ,Hymn and P alm of .

Tere are a number of Italian our e , whi h sem from out ide the Vati an,dating from . onward that are ompletely removed from anythingin ide the Vati an, and owe more to ontemporary inuen e . Whils rangingin syle, from the modes to the hugely operati , they all laim to ontain thefamou abbellimenti . However, the e ver ion are o elaborate a to renderthem basard on , with no laim to their father’ title. Some are or hesrated,

ome ontain many more part , and nearly all have a mu i al language thatan only belong to the th entury. Te de line of the Papal Choir during

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llegri’s iserere

the th entury as further doubt on u h our e , parti ularly whilsearlier, more truthful our e abound.

P Whils the Vati an our e make no referen e to the plain ong ver e , all ofthe Briti h Library indi ate the plain ong only by the rs few word ofea h ver e, without any lue a to the hant. M sate Il Populo ri pondealtro ver o, whils other variou ly mention that they are to be ungottovo e , and al oin oro, whi h might even ugges a eparate body re pon iblefor the plain ong ver e .

Te mu i i ba ed on thetonu peregrinu , or wandering tone, and o wouldhave originally alternated between thi hant and the harmony. However,over the pan of time through whi h thi pie e wa performed, a great many

hant will have been u ed, in luding tho e now found in theliber u uali . Te appropriate one for P alm in the Liturgy for Laud on Maundy Tur day and Good Friday are and , re pecively, and the latter habeen u ed in many modern edition . It i al o thought that in the nineteenth

entury, the plain hant wa imply re ited on a ingle note.

B ( - )Vati an ontain omma o Bai’ etting, written hortly after it om-po ition, and wa opied by Toma Altavilla in , who ite HieronimoBigello a Maser of the Papal Chapel at that time. Bai’ etting of the ametext i ba ed upon Allegri’ , being harmoni ally imilar in it srucure.However, there i more variation and harmoni elaboration, with ea h ver e

howing differen e . Te pie e i written for the ame voi e a Allegri’original, & , but i more modern than Allegri’ lightly ar hai

etting. Mos of the pee h rhythm ha been written out in full, and the work take a more hordal nature with underlying polyphoni movement. Tenotation of the pee h rhythm i on isent with that u ed in later ver ion of

Allegri’ . Te las ver e be ome an antiphonal double hoir of , butagain hold Allegri’ original srucure within it. Ti etting wa doubtlede igned by Bai to u e the ameabbellimenti found in Allegri’ ver ion, andin time, the two pie e were merged together, a Aleri note .

Other work by Allegri, u h a hiLamentation , are o a ionally mi at-tributed to Bai.

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It i al o worth mentioning that Bai’ rs ver e i different sill from theth entury ‘re-writing’ of Allegri’ ve-part hoir.

C Te lates Vati an our e i , dated , and wa written by the lasfull-time Maser of the Papal Chapel, Domini o Musafa. Te ataloguede ribe it aBai et Allegri P almu ; ff - v, and indeed, it doe appearto be a hybrid of the two, with o a ional e ond hoir ver e taken from

Allegri. Te etting i ornamented, and Musafa urge the Pope not to letanyone out ide the Cappella Sisina Choir view the work.

I u pec the rea on for the mixing of the two work i a follow : mos ofBai’ four-part ver e ontain theabbellimenti , ex ept the rs one, Ampliulava me ; o it make en e for Allegri’ etting of that ver e to be tran planted.Similarly Bai’ etting doe not ontain mu i for the rs half of the las ver e,Tunc acceptabi acricium iusitiae, oblatione et holocausa . Be au e Allegri doe et mu i to thi line, Allegri’ etting of that text nd it wayinto Bai’ ver ion.

Ti ver ion i , in e en e, the ve-part hoir, followed by Allegri’original four-part hoir, with theabbellimenti . However, the whole work iit elf ornamented, omewhat gilding the lily, with late baroque and romantiturn , trill and other effec , often o urring imultaneou ly in differentpart , whi h praci e run ontrary to the pirit of ea h voi e taking itturn.

Musafa had ompo ed hi own ix-part etting of the Mi erere , and aa asrato had ung the Mi erere him elf. A “direcor in perpetuity” of theCappella Mu i ale, he onduced it performan e with ‘the las asrato’

Ale andro More hi ( - ), who e voi e ould ope with the rigourof the work. Te work wa now performed up a fourth from written pit h,and o sill required a top C, but in the rs half of the four-part hoir, ratherthan the e ond half. In , Pope Piu X banned asrato from the Cap-pella Mu i ale Ponti ia, with boy taking their pla e.

For mos of the th entury, hoir have ung and audien e have lisenedto a ver ion of the Mi erere that bear little relation hip to anything that wa

ung in the Sisine Chapel.

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llegri’s iserere

e oly rail L

Te mysique of e re y semmed, no doubt, from the failure to appre iatethe our e of the ornament . Te only rite of initiation wa the sandardmu i al training of the day. Te de ree of ex ommuni ation, if it were true,

an only have erved one of two purpo e : either a a form of employmentprotecion for the mu i ian , or to prohibit an already ouri hing trade in

opie . Te number of unauthori ed our e , learly originating from theVati an during the , bear tesament to the latter. However, few our e

in luded the ornament . Tere were only three authori ed opie out ide the Vati an, held by theKing of Portugal, Padre Giovanni Battisa Martini ( - ) and EmperorLeopold ( - ). Leopold had requesed the Pope that the imperial

hoir in Vienna might perform it, and he wa duly ent a opy, but it waunornamented, and he omplained to the Pope that he had been ent omeinferior work. Te Pope then a ked hi maesro di cappella , who tried toexplain to hi former employer that the beauty of the mu i wa a re ult of

the performan e te hnique of the hapel hoir. Te Pope, omewhat diplo-mati ally, offered the mu i ian hi job ba k if he ould explain hi a e tothe Emperor’ ati facion, and he wa eventually re-hired.

Padre Martini wa ent one out of the high regard in whi h he wa heldthroughout Europe a a mu i holar. Burney i aid to have made hi opyfrom the maesro di cappella , Santarelli, and ompared it with that of Martiniin . It i uriou , therefore, that hi rs vv hoir i more ornate thanthe Vati an our e , and hi e ond vv hoir le o.

Another legend, of our e, on ern the boy Mozart. In , Mozart,aged , and hi father travelled a rather tortuou route to meet Martini, inthe hope of re eiving tuition from him. On Wedne day of Holy Week, theyattended enebrae in the Sisine Chapel, and the young prodigy tran ribedthe mu i the next day. On Good Friday, he returned to hear the pie e again,

with hi manu ript tu ked in ide hi hat.Leopold, in a letter to hi wife of th April, ay :

"You have often heard of the famouMi erere in Rome, which i o greatly

prized that the performer are forbidden on pain of excommunication to takeaway a ingle part of it, opy it or give it to anyone. But we have it a

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Wolfgang ha written it down and we would have ent it to Salzburg ithi letter, if it were not ne e ary for u to be there to perform it. Bumanner of performan e ontribute more to it effec than the ompoit elf. Moreover, a it i one of the e ret of Rome, we do not wi h fall into other hand ." However, the detail of thi sory are pure thentury invention. Tere i

even doubt about when the Mozart arrived in Romw and what mu i theymight have acually heard. Mozart then vi ited Martini in Bologna, wherehe al o met Burney. In the ummer of that year, Mozart ompo ed hi own

Mi erere , , whi h i thought to have been inuen ed by what he had heard. Te e legend need ome tempering. No order of ex ommunicion ha

been found in papal edic . Mozart wa not the rs to opy the work: ithad been performed in London twi e before he opied it, and opie were widely available to touris , de pite the uppo ed penalty. Troughout the

th entury, gentlemen ould buy opie on the Via del Cor o. Te detailof the young mu i ian tu king the ore in hi hat to orrec hi rs attemptthe following day are likely to be thentury invention. Tere i even omedoubt about whether Mozart opied it, or merely obtained a opy.

P P

Te text of the Mi erere wa rs et to mu i in the reign of Pope Leo ( - ). By Allegri’ time, there wa already a long tradition a o iated with the work’ srucure and performan e, and he doubtle ompo ed it with thi in mind. It i lear that throughout the eighteenth entury Allegri’ work wa performed a written in & , ornamentation a ide. It ithi that the fourteen year old Mozart would have heard in , and it ifrom thi that the pie e’ reputation pread.

Te bigges legend lie in the praci e of the performan e it elf. Te abbel-limenti them elve ome from ornamentation te hnique in Renai an epolyphony, and o predate the work it elf! Te imilarity between the orna-ment in and tho e detailed by Aleri, Amann and Mendel ohn

would ugges a ertain authority. All our e that how the ornamentationgive remarkably imilar rendition , no matter what their date or provenan e.

It i lear that u h ornament were not improvi ation, a we would u e theterm today, but et-pie e whi h the Sisine Chapel hoir learnt by heart, to

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llegri’s iserere

pla e in the mu i whenever appropriate. Allegri learly ompo ed thi workto how off the e mu i al gambit to their mos extravagant degree.

Te Papal hoir’ ability to improvi e ounterpoint around aantu rmu wa well known and thi ame from ornamentation of ertain ontrapuntal

equen e . Su h maser a O keghem and Jo quin have left re ord of howthey expeced pe i polyphoni movement to be ornamented, parti ularlymovement up and down the ale. Ti then i not improvi ation, but aregulated ysem.

I am reminded of the word of Toma Morley —no sranger to Italianmu i — in hiPlain and Ea y Introducion to Praci al Mu i of :

"Some have sood in an opinion, whi h to me eem very improbabmen a usomed to de anting an ing together on a plain ong witing either fal e hord or forbidden de ant, one to another, whi h,

I will ever think impo ible. For though they hould all be mos excellent men,and every one of their le on by it elf o well-framed to the grounimpo ible for them to be true, one to another, unle one man hoall the res to ing the ame a he ang before them." However, by the eighteenth entury, thi ability wa ertainly extinc

out ide the Vati an, o did the hoir sill perform in the ame way a theirforebear , or did they learn the note by rote? It i not lear whether the PapalChoir were sill tutored in u h tradition of Palesrina by the eighteenth

entury. Over the hisory of the work, it i hard to imagine that thi wa orarely on igned to paper. Indeed, the mu i for enebrae wa rehear ed, arare treat in tho e day , be au e it would be performed in near darkne . Te

our e of the ornament i beyond doubt from the renai an e tea hing ofu h maser a Palesrina.

P S

By omparing Allegri’ original manu ript with the later ver ion on-taining the ornament , it an learly be een what ha happened to thepie e and how the hoir i to ing it. Allegri’ original note are doubled inlength, whils the rs treble ha elaborated on a imple downward ale.

Te lower three voi e all hold onto their note , not moving until the rs

treble give the very obviou hint of a C followed a C on two equal note ,thu re-esabli hing the tempo.

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Terefore the rs treble may elaborate on the exising ornament in freetime, in the syle of a adenza, while the remaining three part hold ontotheir note , only moving on to the next note only when the treble i ready! Iti al o worth noting that the top three part ea h have ornament at differenttime , o allowing ea h of them to how off their kill while the remainingpart hold onto the hord. Obviou ly, all the part annot extempori e atthe ame time, a thi would lead to hao .

It i thi performan e praci e whi h make the Mi erere o pe ial, and whi h al o require a high degree of mu i ality from it performer .

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llegri’s iserere

emaining uesion

One of the bigges myserie i how the rs hoir be ame altered, a writ-ten in , and by whom? omma o Bai’ etting of wa produ ed toe ho that of Allegri, and the p alm wa later ung a a mixture of the e twopie e . Te re-worked Allegri i not taken from Bai’ own etting, but ouldBai have ub equently re-syled Allegri’ original ver e ? He died in , whi h would eem to rule him out; but Allegri’ own mu i doe n’t make itinto the Vati an library until ome year after hi death, either.

Another point on ern the plethora of unadorned manu ript . Why did

no one el e gripe, a Leopold had done, after being hown an unadornedopy if they had heard the pie e performed? Did none of the e mu i olo-gis on the Grand our attempt to ll in the gap after paying through theno e for a manu ript whi h wa n’t all they had hoped? Te ability of thiRenai an e embelli hment wa not known out ide the Vati an — how thendid foreign inger hope to perform it without the note ?

Finally, ould Burney’ ver ion be that re orded by Mozart? Te ver ionpubli hed i different from all other our e , being more elaborate and

poli hed. Ti make it highly likely that it wa Mozart’ own onsrucion.But if Mozart had hown Burney hi opy, why did Burney not publi h theabbellimenti? Mozart, a a atholi itizen, wa in danger of ex ommuni a-tion; but Burney, a an Engli hman, wa not. Burney’ publi ation of the workin the following year wa uppo ed to end any notion of e re y or monopolyby the Vati an. But theabbelimenti were not in hi edition. Leopold Mozart’

laim that he did ‘not wi h to let it fall into other hand ’ would ugges thatthe Mozart were unwilling to how Burney theabbellimenti . But the work

ould be boguht on the sreet of Rome, and had been performed in Londonand el ewhere from unauthori ed opie .

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ummary and hronology Consanzo Fesa ompo e the Mi erere a a fal obordone for twohoir , one of voi e , the other of , for u e in Holy Week liturgy. Gregorio Allegri ompo e hi etting of Mi erere in a imilar format,

allowing the inger to u e a number of ornamentation te hnique . Allegri die . Allegri’ etting i written into two book , whi h ontain twelve

different etting of the Mi erere , ea h a fal obordone for two hoir of and voi e .

omma o Bai’ etting of the Mi erere , borrowing heavily from Allegri, i written into the Vati an library.

Allegri’ rs hoir appear re-written in a heavily altered form. Te work i rs performed in London. Mozart hear the Sisine Chapel hoir. Charle Burney meet Mozart.

Burney publi he the Mi erere , without abbellimenti . Reprint oonappear in Germany, Fran e and Italy. Felix Mendel ohn tran ribe the Mi erere , eemingly performed

up a fourth from written pit h. Pietro Aleri publi he hi detailed a ount of theabbellimenti . W.S. Ro ksro in orrecly reprodu e the e ond hoir to illusrate an

arti le in the rs edition of Grove’ Dicionary of Mu i and Mu i ian . Mendel ohn’ tran ription of the top G ornament, up a fourth, iin erted into the e ond half of the ver e. Robert Haa publi he an edition withabbellimenti , opying the error

direcly from Grove’ , produ ing the ‘top C’ ver ion. Juliu Amann publi he Allegri Mi erere und die Auffuhrung praxi in

der Sixtina, detailing the abbellimenti and performan e praci e in theSisine Chapel. Ivor Atkin opie Haa ’ error into hi Engli h text edition.

Sub equent edition lend authority and reden e to the error byrepeating it.

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llegri’s iserere

os ript Te purpo e of thi re ear h ha been ve-fold. Firsly, it i hoped that omelight ha been hed onto the nature and hisory of thi extraordinary pie eand the ornamentation ontained within. Correc undersanding of the abbel-limenti a pre-exising Renai an e te hnique annot be over-empha i ed.

Hopefully, it will help to redre ome of the ‘damage’ done by twentiethentury edition . Tat u h illusriou name a tho e who have produ ed edi-

tion of thi work hould blatantly ignore the our e eviden e, or wor e, admitthe error without orrecing it, i a very pe uliar sate of affair indeed.

Te re ear h orrecly attribute Briti h Library a the ettingby Allegri, rather than that by Bai. It i the only manu ript in the Briti hLibrary whi h detail theabbellimenti , and it i therefore of ome importan ethat thi atalogue error i orreced.

It i al o hoped that, in the true pirit of authenti ity, the work will on eagain be performed a it wa intended, and a generation of inger and

vi itor to the Papal Chapel knew and loved the work.Finally, it produ e a performing edition that give ome idea of how the

work wa performed during the eighteenth entury. Te edition i ba ed on Vati an for the rs vv hoir, and Vati an for the e ond vv hoir. Te ornament have been taken from Briti h

Library Add. and G. . Note value have been halved, all bar lineare editorial, written pit h ha been maintained, although the key ignatureha been given an extra at, whi h in orporate original a idental . Smalla idental are autionary.

Te nal nine part hoir i taken from Allegri’ original, & ,

with the rs tenor part uperpo ed in keeping with the reworking. Tepau e on the nal note i added from , and Burney’ ultimate dire -tion i in luded.

Te plain ong i taken from the liber u uali , and i thetonu peregrinu ,on whi h the fal obordone i ba ed. Te text ha been he ked agains theVulgate, with pelling and puncuation updated.

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our e

Bibliote a Aposoli a Vati ana

: rs hoir : e ond hoir : rs hoir

Briti h Library

Additional : f b th entury Additional : ff - b th entury Additional : ff , th entury Egerton : f th entury Egerton : ff - b th entury Egerton : ff - th entury

H. : Burney, Charle ;La mu i a he i anta annualmente nelleFunzioni della Settimana Santa nella Cappella Ponti ale ,

Hir h : Amann, Juliu ; Allegri Mi erere und die Auffuhrung praxi in der Sixtina ,

G. : Geminiani, Ale andro; Il Salmo Mi erere poso in mu i ada Gregorio Allegri e da omma o Bai ,

Gues, George; Modern performing edition, Cheser Mu i

ppendi e Appendix Allegri’ original rs hoir, ver e Appendix Allegri’ original e ond hoir, ver e Appendix Burney’ rs hoir, ver e Appendix Burney’ e ond hoir, ver e Appendix Vati an , ver e (edition)

Appendix Aleri & Additional , v. (edition)

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llegri’s iserere

Treble

Alto

Tenor 1

Tenor 2

Bass

Miserere

Miserere

Miserere

Miserere

Miserere

me

me - - -

me

me

me

i,-

i,-

i,-

i,-

De

De

-

i,

De -

-

De -

-

-

De -

-

- -

- -

- -

-

-

-

-

-

us,

us,-

us,-

us,

us,

secundum magnam miseri -





cor

cor

cor

cor

cor

di- -

di- -

di- -

di- -

di- -

am

am

am

am

am

tu

tu

tu - -

tu

tu

-

- -

- -

- -

- -

am.

am.

-

am.

am.

- am.

ppendix llegri’ riginal ver e , M S

© Ben Byram-Wigeld

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Amplius lava me ab iniqui -




ta

ta

ta - - -

ta

te-

te-

te-

me

te

me -

- -

me - -

me

- -

-

-

a:

-

a:

- -

-

a:

a:

et a pec - -

et a pec - -

et a pec - -

et a pec - -

ca -

ca

ca

ca

to-

to-

to-

to-

me

me

me

me

o-

o-

-

- -

- o

-

mun -

mun -

mun

o mun

da-

da-

da-

da-

me.

me.

me.

me.

ppendix llegri’ riginal ver e , M S

© Ben Byram-Wigeld

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llegri’s iserere

Treble 1

Treble 2

Alto

Tenor

Bass

Mi

Mi

Mi

Mi

Mi

se--

se--

se-

se-

se-

re

re

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

me

me

me

me-

me

i,

i,-

i,-

i,-

De -

i,-

De

De

De

-

De

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

- -

- -

- -

- -

-

-

us:

us:

us:

us:

us:

se -

se-

se-

se-

se-

cun-

cun-

cun-

cun-

cun-

dum

dum

dum

dum

dum

mag

mag

mag

mag

mag

nam-

nam-

nam-

nam-

nam-

mi-

mi

mi

- se ri-- cor

se-

se-

-

ri- -

ri- -

cor-

cor

mi

di-

am,

-

- se

di- -

mi -

ri- - cor

mi

am,

-

-

-

se-

se

ri--

ri--

-

cor

mi -

cor

-

-

-

-

se

di-

-

-

ri- -

am

di- am

-

-

cor

tu -

tu -

di-

di-

di--

am

am

am

tu - -

tu - -

tu - -

-

- -

-

am.

am.

am.

am.

- am.

ppendix urney’ ( ozart?) ver e

© Ben Byram-Wigeld

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llegri’s iserere

Treble 1

Treble 2

Alto

Tenor

Bass

Mi

Mi

Mi

Mi

Mi

se--

se--

se-

se-

se-

re

re

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

re-

me

me

me

me

me

i,-

i,-

i,-

i,-

De -

i,-

De

De

-

-

De

De

-

-

-

- - -

- - -

-

-

- -

-

-

-

us,-

us,

us,-

us,-

us,-

se-

se-

se-

se-

se-

cun-

cun-

cun-

cun-

cun-

dum

dum

dum

dum

dum

mag

mag

mag

mag

mag

nam-

nam-

nam-

nam-

nam-

mi

mi -

mi -

se- ri- - cor

se

se

mi

ri- -

di- -

mi -

am

cor -

se-

ri- -

ri- - cor

se

cor

di -

-

ri- -

di--

cor

am

am

di

mi

- am

- -

se- ri- - cor

tu

tu -

tu

di -

-

am

di- -

-

tu

am

- -

-

-

- -

-

-

tu -

-

-

-

am.

am.

am.

-

- am.

am.

ppendix eworking of , ver e , M S (edition)

© Ben Byram-Wigeld

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Am

Am

Am

Am

pli--

pli--

pli-

pli-

us

us

us-

us-

la-

la-

la

la

va

va

va-

va-

me

me

me

me

ab

ab

ab

ab

in

in

in

in

i- -

i- -

i- -

i- -

qui-

qui-

qui-

qui -

ta

ta -

ta - - -

ta

- te

te-

- te

me

me - -

te

-

me

me

-

-

-

- -

- -

-

-

-

- - -

- -

-

- -

-

-

a.

a.

a.

a.

et

et

et

et

a

a

a

a

pec -

pec -

pec -

pec -

ca

ca

ca

ca

-

to-

to-

to-

- to

me -

me -

me -

me

o-

o-

-

-

- o

-

mun -

mun -

mun

o-

mun

- - da

da- -

da- -

da-

me.

me.

me.

me.

ppendix ver e from leri & dditional (edition)

© Ben Byram-Wigeld

8/19/2019 Very Book


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