Miserere Mess

There are some composers who seemed doomed to being one song wonders of whom nothing is generally ever heard except one work which gets performed to death. The French mixed choir A Sei Voci are best known for their commanding performances of the music of Josquin and they bring their consummate ability to communicate the emotional power of Renaissance polyphony rather than merely its intellectual prowess. All praise to them for their efforts in saving Allegri from having his Miserere performed to the total exclusion of all else.

The recording of the Missa Vidi Turbam Magnam and other motets along with the Miserere is thus a huge relief. The style is entirely that of the Seconda Prattica with its simplication of the florid contrapuntal style of the Prima Prattica composers and the gradual dissappearance of modes in favor of a more modern tonality. The result here is an attractive work which sounds like an exotic blend of Palestrina and Monteverdi. The motets here sound even more madrigalian than the mass and this is accentuated by the instrumental accompaniment on the organ.

Of course, A Sei Voce do still perform the Miserere - twice in fact so you will definitely not miss it here. They play it in the modern conventional fashion unadorned but also with the sort of ornamentation that would have been considered standard performance practice in Allegri's day, where the singing of falsobordone without embellishing with the improvisation of florid ornamentations was unthinkable. Both performances of the Miserere are amongst the very finest of the rightly famos Miserere I have ever heard. If you have never heard the Miserere or want a recommendation for a superb recording of it this would be an excellent first choice, if the coupling suits you. Otherwise the Tavener Consort have a fine collection of music for the Sistine Chapel if an anthology of mostly later Renaissance music is what you prefer together with another wonderful unadorned Miserere. Either of these are preferable to the Tallis Scholars, who may have performed this work once too often - fortunately they have made other wonderful recordings.

The recorded sound here is also well above average with excellent sound-staging, detail and well judged balance between voices and the organ. If both sound quality matters as well as artistic quality then this may be the Miserere to go for.

Let me just say quickly that there are a lot of different versions of the Miserere out there and this is at least a very very good one. As an added bonus, it includes other tracks by Allegri (yes, that's right, he wrote more than just the Miserere) and its not just filler like the "other" works of some other one-hit-wonder type composers out there (I wont get into names but the initials of one are Pachelbel). The Missa Vidi Turbam is honestly deserving of your time and recognition. If you're confused as to why there appear to be two miserere's on the album its because the first includes added ornamentation in the upper register in the style in which the Miserere was originally perforemed. But don't worry if you're a fan of the more common high-C version, because it is included as well at the end of the CD.

Gregorio Allegri is unfortunately not a composer that is known by the casual listner of classical music and that is a shame since Allegri creates music that truly touches the soul. Even though I am not Catholic (Evengelical Lutheran), there is something in the vocals that sounds like the voices of angels and the texts are filled with devotion and Allegris obvious deep seated faith. "I love the line "create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" and I do remember singing this whilst in church in Atlanta GA. This kind of music has a very profound effect on me and when I hear I feel closer to God.

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