Gregorio Allegri - Miserere

Years ago I had the opportunity to listen to this music in the Narbonne cathedral. Thought it was too expensive.

Epic FAIL, I still hate myself for not going.
 
This is stunningly beautiful music. There are several versions of Allegri's "Miserre" on YouTube, but one of the best CD recordings is the choral masterworks from the Sistine Chapel called "Sacred Treasures II" available through Hearts of Space online web page.
 
I'd like to add this: Hearts of Space music link.They're very genuine folks bringing decent music outward. And this, especially, is really is a profoundly great piece of music. ""Sacred Treasures II" I had to ask for it and they found copies thankfully.

_http://www.hos.com/
 
A quote from Gurdjieff worthy of this music:

"It is very difficult to explain what takes place in me when I see or hear anything majestic which allows no doubt that it proceeds from the actualization of Our Maker Creator. Each time, my tears flow of themselves. I weep, that is to say, it weeps in me, not from grief, no, but as if from tenderness."
 
This is one of those popular pieces which also has a really interesting backstory.

Composed around 1638, Miserere was the last and most famous of twelve falsobordone settings used at the Sistine Chapel since 1514. At some point, it became forbidden to transcribe the music and it was allowed to be performed only at those particular services at the Sistine Chapel, thus adding to the mystery surrounding it.

Three authorized copies of the work were distributed prior to 1770: to the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I; to the King of Portugal; and to Padre (Giovanni Battista) Martini. However, none of them succeeded in capturing the beauty of the Miserere as performed annually in the Sistine Chapel. According to the popular story (backed up by family letters), fourteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was visiting Rome when he first heard the piece during the Wednesday service. Later that day, he wrote it down entirely from memory, returning to the Chapel that Friday to make minor corrections.
(Miserere (Allegri) - Wikipedia)

Over time though, the original music changed. It shifted keys, and added a high C for the treble line. What is mostly heard today is quite different from what Mozart probably witnessed.

This is an example of the modern:

This is an example of the original:
(music starts at time: 1:21)

Having been fortunate to hear both versions in real life, I think the original is better - it is simpler and more reverent whereas the modern version sounds forced and commercial.
 
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