Miserere
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Miserere (the imperative form of Latin misereri, to have mercy or pity) is the name of one of the seven Penitential Psalms (Psalm 51). The name comes from the psalm's opening words in Latin, Miserere mei, Deus (Have mercy on me, O God).
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[edit] Musical settings
The Miserere was a frequently-used text in Catholic liturgical music before Vatican II. Most of the settings, which are often used at Tenebrae, are in a simple falsobordone style. During the Renaissance many composers wrote settings. The earliest known polyphonic setting, probably dating from the 1480s, is by Johannes Martini, a composer working in the Este court in Ferrara.[1] The extended polyphonic setting by Josquin des Prez, probably written in 1503/1504 in Ferrara, was likely inspired by the prison meditation Infelix ego by Girolamo Savonarola, who was burned at the stake just five years before. Later in the 16th century Orlande de Lassus wrote an elaborate setting as part of his Penitential Psalms, and Palestrina, Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Carlo Gesualdo also wrote settings.[2]
One of the best-known settings of the Miserere is the 17th century version by Roman School composer Gregorio Allegri. According to a famous story, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, aged only fourteen, heard the piece performed once, on April 11, 1770, and after going back to his lodging for the night was able to write out the entire score from memory. He went back a day or two later with his draft to correct some errors.[3]
Modern composers who have written notable settings of the Miserere include Michael Nyman and Arvo Pärt.
[edit] Other meanings
The word 'miserere' is frequently used in English as equivalent to misericord[citation needed] (Lat. misericordia, pity, compassion), a word for various ways in which the rules of a monastic order or the general discipline of the clergy may be relaxed. Thus it is applied to a special chamber in a monastery for those members who were allowed special food, drink, &c. Misericord also refers and to a small bracket on the under side of the seat in a stall of a church made to turn up and afford support to a person in a position between sitting and standing.
Additionally, misericord and miserere can both refer to a small dagger, the "dagger of mercy", capable of passing between the joints of armour, with which the coup de grâce might be given to a wounded man.
[edit] References
- John Caldwell: "Miserere", Stanley Boorman, "Sources: MS", Stanley Sadie, "Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus"; Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 25, 2006), (subscription access)
- Patrick Macey, Bonfire Songs: Savonarola's Musical Legacy. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1998. ISBN 0-19-816669-9
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.