Skip to content

For Ash Wednesday: Allegri’s “Miserere mei, Deus”

Jason Kratz
Jason Kratz
— 1 min read

(repost from this past Ash Wednesday)

This seems like a fitting piece of music to share this Ash Wednesday. Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus per Wikipedia:

It was composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for the exclusive use of the Sistine Chapel during the Tenebrae services of Holy Week.

This version (the most-performed version in the present) has the soaring high-C note which, per some sources, is an error in transcription done at a much later date (the late 1800’s). Regardless of the error the sound is angelic.

Here the Miserere is performed by London-based choir Tenebrae. Enjoy!

Here is a version performed by a much smaller ensemble, VOCES8 (who I have had the pleasure of seeing live and meeting!), another a cappella choir based in England.