Miserere (and Mozart)

There is an interesting story about a solemn piece of music called Miserere that was composed by the Italian Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652) sometime before 1638.  It is a setting of Psalm 51 for nine voices that was a big hit in the 1630s Italy.  It was used during Holy Week, starting at 3AM, with 27 lighted candles placed around the church.  One by one the candles were extinguished until one remained, when the pope (who was reported to have participated in these services) would kneel and pray during the performance of the Miserere.  It was not the only setting of this Psalm, but it certainly became the most popular.

The piece was so valuable to the church, that it was forbidden for anyone to copy it or take a part of it or give it away.  At one point, only three copies of the piece were believed to be in existence.  However, in 1770 Mozart (yes, that Mozart) and his father, Leopold, arrived in Rome.  As any other tourist would, they attended a performance of the Miserere while at the Sistine Chapel (yes, that Sistine Chapel).  The ban on copying the Miserere was still in effect, but after the performance, the 12-year-old Mozart wrote out the music from memory.  That is interesting enough, but what happened after that is even more so.

While Mozart was meeting with Padre Martini while in Bologna, he met another friend of Martini's: Dr. Charles Burney, of London, England, who was a music historian and biographer.  Burney was touring France and Italy in research for a new book about the music in these countries at that time.   There is little evidence of what actually happened during this meeting, but there are some theories.  The main facts, though, are: Mozart's transcription of the Miserere hasn't been found, and after Dr. Burney's return to England, copies of Allegri's Miserere began to appear in Leipzig, Rome, England, and Paris.  The monopoly on the piece was subsequently destroyed.

There are a few theories about how this happened.  The obvious conjecture is that the piece was taken from Mozart during the meeting with Martini.  It is possible, however, that Burney took Mozart's transcription to compare it to Martini's copy (one of the three copies believed to have existed at that time) or because Burney wanted to study the transcribed improvisatory elements that Mozart captured in his version.  Burney may have then destroyed Mozart's copy to protect him from any backlash from the Church.  The world may never know the full story.

At any rate, it is a beautiful piece of vocal music that deserves some consideration and appreciation by all music listeners.