"Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness According to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences. Wash me throughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me."
[Psalm 51:1-3]
1770년 당시 14세이던 모짜르트(Mozart)의 마음을 송두리채 빼앗았던 그 곡
한번 듣고 완변학게 악보에 옮겨 놓았다는 가장 아름다운 그레고리안 성가곡이 바로
Gregori Allegri의 Miserere mei Deus이다.
By far the most celebrated composition of Allegri is the Miserere mei, Deus, a setting of Vulgate Psalm 50 (= Psalm 51). It is written for two choirs, the one of five and the other of four voices, and has obtained considerable celebrity. One of the choirs sings a simple fauxbordon based on the original plainsong chant for the Tonus peregrinus; the other choir sings a similar fauxbordon with pre-existing elaborations and the use of cadenzas. The Miserere has for many years been sung annually during Holy Week in the Sistine Chapel. Many have cited this work as an example of the stile antico (old style) or prima pratica (first practice). 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 Miserere is one of the most often-recorded examples of late Renaissance music, although it was actually written during the chronological confines of the Baroque era; in this regard it is representative of the music of the Roman School of composers, who were stylistically conservative. The work acquired a considerable reputation for mystery and inaccessibility between the time of its composition and the era of modern recording; the Vatican, wanting to preserve its aura of mystery, forbade copies, threatening any publication or attempted copy with excommunication. They were not prepared, however, for a special visit in 1770 from a 14-year-old Mozart, who, on a visit to Rome with his father, heard it but twice and transcribed it faithfully from memory, thus creating the first unauthorised copy. [Wikipedia]
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