It’s the overlapping and building “confirma me” that gets me. Just that verse, comes in with such power, then the overlapping “confirma me” is so strong. I love it.
I adore this video for maybe the nerdiest reason… I play the role of cantor at my church, and I’ve always dreamed of singing Allegri’s Miserere during Holy Week, but I just don’t have those highest notes. But the original version is almost identical to what I already sing each week! I’m losing-my-mind excited to finally bring the great Miserere to our little parish ensemble
I always knew Allegri's Miserere slapped. What I didn't know is that it hits so hard that it slaps in an additional 2 versions I was unaware about until now.
@@danielhughes441 I think they added the solos from a different take. The 4-part choir would have come in on the lower pitch they had been presented with if the performance was continuous, but they were instantly in tune with each other and matched the previous choir. Also, no conductor is necessary for this.
Mistakes happen, but they distort the original idea. In the future that piece of music might be performed by a death metal band and people think it's just some traditional lullaby from the year 1984.
@@ariseaman390 you underestimate (Death) Metal. Especially in Scandinavia many Metal bands are formed by musicians who studied music at the university. There is no modern music that is more complex than Metal (apart from "modern" classical music of course). Music is the language of emotions and in this song the high C is nothing else. But how can you express rage, anger or even hatred with a choir? This is the gap harmonic music cannot fill and where Metal has to be.
Allegri's original, opening two verses: 6:30 18th century version, with 2nd voice in opening 5-part choir up 1 octave: 8:12 Familiar version known today: 10:19
It would be really nice to have a full recording of the 2nd version from beginning to end. That seems the version most suitable for a concert, but what I like about the original version is that it can be sung by ordinary people in an actual liturgy!
Those acoustics! There's just something about the singer standing in the alcove that highlights the fact these stones are amplifying those voices. The talent of it all... the voices, the composer and the architects ... its simply amazing.
I’m really, really impressed with the original version. There is a noble simplicity to it that was lost in all of the later embellishments. I hope you guys record it for one of your albums one day.
@@Jrayhood Al though the Sistine Chapel Choir of the late 20th and 21st centuries doesn't bear much resemblance to the one of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The high c is splendid, but I think what really sells it is the sudden key change. It makes you feel so transported each time. It’s so out of place for this type of music, being from the period it was from; and that’s because it actually IS out of place, but nonetheless 😂 And the plainchant in between works really well as a tonality palette cleanser to lead us back to the original key. ✨
Druid? Gregorio Allegri was a Roman Catholic Priest. Stop confusing yourself and robbing the Holy Trinity of their Glory! Their aim is to inspire love of God by sending Sanctifying music into the world. Their purpose again is to raise a soul to God! No doubt you are an admirer also of Mozart? Mozart was not the silly wretch they portrayed him as being in the film. Having read his unedited letters, he was revealed to be what would be classed today as a most Conservative Prudish person, a devout Roman Catholic (like Allegri) who served God and led people to God with his inspired music. In many letters Mozart speaks of Christ. "Christ willing I'll see you later" "If it is God's Will I will do so" etc...In one letter that Mozart wrote to a friend, he revealed that during the space of time that he sat at Table eating his dinner, he became distracted from his table guests, upon hearing music as though already composed playing in his head. All that was needed was for him to write it down. No doubt you would interpret him as being a warlock, Druid, or heathen - (all known to be Satanic types who are NOT of the pure, just God. Mozart, however, did not despise the virtue and innocence of Christ, and he recognised His virtue and innocence within His gift of Music. He therefore gave full credit to God. He said the music came from Heaven so that he could bring glory to God as souls marvelled at his accomplishments. Mozart also once said "I trust NO man who does not love Christ." As a Composer myself I know that what he said was true. Whether the music is dreamed, heard consciously playing outside yourself, or even played in your soul so you are unaware that it is indeed a gift from outside you - the author of ALL Sacred, spiritual beautiful music is Our Lord. Who hopes we will rush to worship Him as we hear it being performed. His aim is realised. MANY souls are brought to Christ listening to the music that He gave the Composers who LOVED Him. Other RC Priest Composers are Palestrina, Vivaldi, Tomas Luis de Victoria Monteverdi, - other Catholic Composers include, Pergolesi, Elgar, and of course, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis.
@@smc3735 “Druid” was a typo! I intended to type “period” and it auto-corrected. Not sure where you got your interpretation of my comment from though. Actuslly personally Mozart is among my least favorite composers. Also, as a composer, I appreciate and tolerate all religions and the music they have inspired, as well as the music they haven’t, and as such, respect that Allegri may have come from a similar spiritual background to yourself!
That is the most beautiful mistake I've ever heard in my life. My heart just soars when I hear it. This is the last thing I want to hear before I close my eyes for ever.
Thank you for this video. This kind of scholarship is extremely important, especially in these days of cultural collapse and general embrace of ignorance.
The singers are uncredited individually, but I think that's Helen Charlston as the contralto (formerly of Trinity College Cambridge). Yes, an awesome talent.
Years ago, I purchased the album of King's College choir first recording of the English version of the Miserere with a boy by the name of Roy Goodman hitting those soaring high Cs. I fell in love with this work. Since then I have found recordings of the original version. I love both of them. Yet, still when listening to the modern version, it is like someone, with those high Cs is trying to reach heaven and taking the listener with him/her.
God, that soprano is just glorious! I love that there is so much resonance and warmth in her voice, even in the higher notes. Fantastic technique! Thank you for sharing your talent and the beauty of music.
For another, try the one in Nigel Short's Tenebrea Choir. The one I'm speaking of specifically is in the antiphonal choir, I put you in about 10 seconds before that stratospheric note. It's the same piece, BTW. ua-cam.com/video/H3v9unphfi0/v-deo.html
@@chrismoule7242 maybe I'm uncultured but that whole part from 9:42 to 10:11 (especially at 10:05) just sounded super pitchy and off to me?? I guess it was meant to sound that way but the blond singer sounded off key to me and it threw me off. But maybe I'm just super used to the original lol
@@ghastlycandle I love the dissonance in that part. It's not off-key, it's just a chromatic note (or borrowed?) I'm assuming. It darkens it a bit. Love it
I was babysitting for my music teacher around 1975/6 and had the radio on. This music played. I didn't catch either the name or the composer but that high note grabbed me. I wanted that music. It wasn't until some time in the 1990s when I bought a CD of "church music" and there it was. I didn't know its history until I saw this video. I do prefer the "wrong" version. It was and still is that very high note that I love, and it literally bring sudden tears to my eyes.
I actually prefer the female soprano version to the boy treble one. The way her voice expands from the rising point of that top C is breathtaking. God bless you.
Wow, I just randomly had this tune play in my head and so wanted to listen to it and then came across this video. You really do learn something new everyday! Best mistake ever! As opposed to the worst mistake ever which is what my parents have called me for 40 years.
They made a mistake they think but all they did was miss the largest opportunity of their life's, raising a child. God makes no mistakes child but humans on the other hand blinded by our ambitions stumble by the second. You are loved but we all have a struggle to face. Hold fast and elevate your struggle for the holy souls of purgatory.
What a beautiful 'mistake'. Easily one of the most touching pieces of music for me. I'll take that high C any day. It's one of the parts I most look forward to in what is now a modern arrangement of the original piece through the centuries.
As someone who's born in a non-Christian family this piece of music as well as this type of (church) music in general speaks straight to my heart and soul 🙌 ❤️ for me heaven exists in music and how it can heal a soul and mind. But i could listen to this piece in a church all day, sang by the ones who poses the knowhow of singing this song so heavenly. To be honest I've never spent more then a few hours in one for the loss of family or close friends... My thoughts go out for all my loved ones present or above. And thank you Allegri from the past, for this wonderfull peace of my soul from the warmth of your music. Which will last another hundreds of years thanks to our current technology of preservation and so on.... thank you thank you thank you☺️
This is one of the most beautiful works of music in the world. The fact that it is the text of one of the most powerful Psalms in scripture only adds to it's beauty.
Either it’s the first “simple” version or the last one with the top C, it’s amazing! Just purely beautiful. ❤ No words can describe the feeling that overcomes me each time I listen to it. Tears rolling down my cheeks with a smile on my face. ❤
Helen Charlston's voice is captivating. When she starts on "misericordiam" in the second version her tone is amazing. I loved this. I read Ben Byram-Wigfield's essay a few years ago, and of course I have heard The Sixteen do their versions (or what is available of them on UA-cam). This was perfect. I much prefer the original tonus peregrinus. I would like to see a version very much like the 18th Century version but with embellishments simplified for a less proficient church choir. On the other hand, the simplicity of the original is amazing.
I have had no musical training, so I don't always know what you are talking about. But I am trying my best to understand everything and go back and compare each version. I find it fascinating I am learning so much
This just goes to show that any piece takes on an indepenence from its composer, and becomes a common cultural heritage, always in the process of being reinvented each time it's recreated. Even a written form, with a long history of documentation, such as the classical music tradition, takes on certain folkloric aspects, much like oral tradition in folk music. Any piece of art becomes public, collective property as the piece itself, and its entire history, becomes the basis for its own interpretation.
Wow! I heard the wrong version all these years! Thank god for your painstaking research and collaboration and the hard work of the Marian Consort. We finally have the right version which is much easier to sing too! The original version by Allegri was more layered, melodious, and more simple than later versions, without the high change in pitch. I liked it better, especially for singing. The later version is what I use when I want to release a flood of tears and my pain flows like a swollen river. Both version are beautiful, but I am very, very grateful to have the original Miserere that you have recorded here. I must buy this song if you have it. Thank you for restoring authenticity to this beautiful piece. It is everlasting.
Each version is wonderful in its own way... I could imagine each one sung on successive services. Thanks for such an insightful presentation and sterlng performance values.
"I adore this video for maybe the nerdiest reason…" I hear your comment and I raise: I am here because of Civilization IV, and because I have fallen asleep to Medieval polyphonic music for years, including Allegri's Miserere.
What an education you've provided about the versions of this piece. Thank you so much! I randomly ran across Tenebrae performing the "mistake" version as my first exposure to it. When I would look for other performers doing it, I noticed I kept seeing various composers' names, dates, and that some sounded different. I kept thinking to myself that I just didn't remember the name of the piece and wouldn't ever figure it out again, so I'd just be happy with what I *thought* I heard one time. (I did eventually find Tenebrae's performance again.) Now it all makes so much more sense. I look forward to listening to other versions with this knowledge.
I found the 8:12 original version to be amazing, but the high-C is just so compelling and fits so well into the piece. It's just the most incredible piece of music, whichever version you like.
Riveting listening in AotearoaNew Zealand on Good Friday morning. A wonderful programme of expert musicology and history delightfully and clearly presented as well as the glorious music of the three versions at the end. Thank you very much all concerned and the Kings Singers who lead me gently to this site. A blessed Easter to all
I have to say I love the original version's simplicity. But I always adored the timelessness of that style no matter how beautiful the modern is. And the challenge of performing an almost-famous work in such an exposed arrangement (i.e. not a massive choir) must have been quite something for you all!
This is what the Divine Intervention is, no mistakes. The best piece ever written by the man, the balm for the soul, every version, extraordinarily sang in here. Thank you. Eternal love and blessings to you all.
A clear exposition of the reason for the extraordinary soaring effect of the high notes, and most unexpected use of the term "truckers' gearchange" in a serious piece about sacred music!
Remarkable how a mistake changes this historic piece, only to make it be a signature identity. And this isn't a mistake in the negative sense of the word at all, but rather a happy one. And yet I find myself loving all three versions equally.
i love this video and to learn that the vetsion of miserere ive been loving to hear is a result of a " mistake" transctiption. I still love it because the soaring ornamentation added depths to the verses. But, hearing the original version is so divine and i love it.
11:03 I recognize the soprano on the left from Tenebrae's 2018 rendition of this same piece, also on UA-cam. She must be intimately familiar with it by now. Also the alto at 10:57 is spectacular.
As an author, I can imagine that Allegri himself knew that high C as a detail that an author almost writes but forgets in a "knock at the door" moment of distraction.....
The psalms are important to all Christians. But the modern version Of Allegri's piece is not Catholic and is NOT ALLOWED IN either the Basilica of St. Peter's or the Sistine Chapel. It was published in England, and later recorded by English orchestras conducted by English conductors. The video makes that clear. I suspect most perhaps All were non-RC. If we must assign a denomination to this modern version it's Anglican, not RC.
Very interesting thanks for the knowledge. But I do like the modern version, and the story of Mozart, hearing it, and then going home to write out the score , which was then published. The first time I heard it, was on a radio 4 documentary. I was painting and decorating. I had to sit down among the paint pots and tears ran down my face. It touched my soul; my misery.
Thank you very much for this very interesting explanation and story! The format you chose was perfect to quickly grasp the differences and the similarities between the versions. Combined with the great production quality this makes for an outstanding video about a stunning piece.
Is it just me or is the highest note actually hit in the original version? At 7:50 there was a wonderfully delicate hight note carried in the background. AMAZING!
Thank you for making this video. I'm so glad I stumbled upon it. Now I got the answer why I have always felt that the Miserere as sung today somehow does not fit the period of Allegri.
Thank you for this wonderful presentation! As a musicologist and a person with conservative liturgical tastes, I must say that I like the first best and the last least, and I would so love to hear a simpler falsabordone setting of this at Tenebrae during Holy Week. It maintains the power of the chant, the mode, the antiphonal psalmody, and the spirit of the service. Not to deny fans of the high C their due, but the non-remixed version should be better known, performed and recorded as well!!
It might be 'wrong', but damn, that top C gives me the shivers Every. Single. Time. One of the most beautiful sequences in all of Music.
That mistake was like god saying let me help you with that 🤣🤣
Best musical mistake ever lol
you're not wrong if that is what it does with your heart
It’s the overlapping and building “confirma me” that gets me. Just that verse, comes in with such power, then the overlapping “confirma me” is so strong. I love it.
Exactly! Exactly! That's the thought that crossed my mind as i heard the account of the "mistake" pure divine intervention 😊😅@@CepheusFromTheMoon
"There are no mistakes, only happy accidents" - Bob Ross
I like your thinking 🤔👍
Crap you beat me to it lol
i prefer master oogway
RIP Bob Ross... Even my pre-teen children love him...
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
I adore this video for maybe the nerdiest reason… I play the role of cantor at my church, and I’ve always dreamed of singing Allegri’s Miserere during Holy Week, but I just don’t have those highest notes. But the original version is almost identical to what I already sing each week! I’m losing-my-mind excited to finally bring the great Miserere to our little parish ensemble
Sweetest comment ever. 🙏🏽
I hope it went well!
May I ask: have you been singing it in Latin?
I think it sounds much better with the Prerigrinus rather than Mode ij.
Magic doesn't exist. Grow up.
I always knew Allegri's Miserere slapped.
What I didn't know is that it hits so hard that it slaps in an additional 2 versions I was unaware about until now.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
The James Macmillan version is my favorite. Look up the version by the ORA singers. PERFECT blend. Absolutely perfect 😭😭
yeah dawg, it slaps da bass!!
@@Frankybeanselevators
weak.
Somehow “slaps” comes nowhere close to the majesty of this music.
In all versions, the singing is exquisite.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
Except for the soprano's scoop and pitch issues in the third version.
The tenor soloist was under pitch on his first two plainchants. I’m also not a fan of the conductor’s gestures/conducting technique
@@danielhughes441 I think they added the solos from a different take. The 4-part choir would have come in on the lower pitch they had been presented with if the performance was continuous, but they were instantly in tune with each other and matched the previous choir. Also, no conductor is necessary for this.
Its not as good as it sounds...
The alto at 11.00 is incredible. What a voice!
Absolutely!
Is she a contralto?
Helen Charleston it is. Glorious
A really warm voice!
I have a special care about (the almost forgotten) Alto voice.
@@richardrobb9016 A lovely rendition of hers in a lighter mood, here with Trinity College ua-cam.com/video/eeK1xc418S4/v-deo.html
Best mistake ever made
Ripping (off) Yarn!
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus ?
@@ShalomMulenga It's really nice. You had involvement in its creation? You're probably doing the narration, yeah?
Mistakes happen, but they distort the original idea. In the future that piece of music might be performed by a death metal band and people think it's just some traditional lullaby from the year 1984.
@@ariseaman390 you underestimate (Death) Metal. Especially in Scandinavia many Metal bands are formed by musicians who studied music at the university. There is no modern music that is more complex than Metal (apart from "modern" classical music of course).
Music is the language of emotions and in this song the high C is nothing else. But how can you express rage, anger or even hatred with a choir? This is the gap harmonic music cannot fill and where Metal has to be.
Allegri's original, opening two verses: 6:30
18th century version, with 2nd voice in opening 5-part choir up 1 octave: 8:12
Familiar version known today: 10:19
😘
It would be really nice to have a full recording of the 2nd version from beginning to end. That seems the version most suitable for a concert, but what I like about the original version is that it can be sung by ordinary people in an actual liturgy!
@@c_era_una_volta😅😅ii😅ii
Commenting so this one stays on top
Those acoustics! There's just something about the singer standing in the alcove that highlights the fact these stones are amplifying those voices. The talent of it all... the voices, the composer and the architects ... its simply amazing.
I'm not terribly bright....it *_JUST_* hit me... all of this, no instruments. Wow, that magnificence is all voices. Wow. So beautiful!
The human voice is the only instrument created by God, not by Man, making it the highest instrument of them all.
@@creightonstarbuck2000 dude...best comment ever
God's greatest instrument.
@@drlrwilsings By your logic, god also made heavenly farting.
I’m really, really impressed with the original version. There is a noble simplicity to it that was lost in all of the later embellishments. I hope you guys record it for one of your albums one day.
it's rather beautiful isn't it. thanks for watching
i think the actual sistine chapel choir had made a recording of the original piece which was recorded in the sistine chapel .
I wholeheartedly agree.
I hope you do a recording too - your work is beautiful. The original tells more closely to the meaning of the Psalm itself too but all are exquisite.
@@Jrayhood
Al though the Sistine Chapel Choir of the late 20th and 21st centuries doesn't bear much resemblance to the one of the 16th and 17th centuries.
All three versions are beautiful, but I just love the high c in the modern version. I also love the purity of the singers voices!
same
I love this entire thing. The right, the wrong, the plain. The. Whole. Miserere
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
😂❤
The high c is splendid, but I think what really sells it is the sudden key change. It makes you feel so transported each time. It’s so out of place for this type of music, being from the period it was from; and that’s because it actually IS out of place, but nonetheless 😂 And the plainchant in between works really well as a tonality palette cleanser to lead us back to the original key. ✨
Druid? Gregorio Allegri was a Roman Catholic Priest. Stop confusing yourself and robbing the Holy Trinity of their Glory! Their aim is to inspire love of God by sending Sanctifying music into the world. Their purpose again is to raise a soul to God! No doubt you are an admirer also of Mozart? Mozart was not the silly wretch they portrayed him as being in the film. Having read his unedited letters, he was revealed to be what would be classed today as a most Conservative Prudish person, a devout Roman Catholic (like Allegri) who served God and led people to God with his inspired music.
In many letters Mozart speaks of Christ. "Christ willing I'll see you later" "If it is God's Will I will do so" etc...In one letter that Mozart wrote to a friend, he revealed that during the space of time that he sat at Table eating his dinner, he became distracted from his table guests, upon hearing music as though already composed playing in his head. All that was needed was for him to write it down. No doubt you would interpret him as being a warlock, Druid, or heathen - (all known to be Satanic types who are NOT of the pure, just God. Mozart, however, did not despise the virtue and innocence of Christ, and he recognised His virtue and innocence within His gift of Music. He therefore gave full credit to God. He said the music came from Heaven so that he could bring glory to God as souls marvelled at his accomplishments.
Mozart also once said "I trust NO man who does not love Christ." As a Composer myself I know that what he said was true. Whether the music is dreamed, heard consciously playing outside yourself, or even played in your soul so you are unaware that it is indeed a gift from outside you - the author of ALL Sacred, spiritual beautiful music is Our Lord. Who hopes we will rush to worship Him as we hear it being performed. His aim is realised. MANY souls are brought to Christ listening to the music that He gave the Composers who LOVED Him.
Other RC Priest Composers are Palestrina, Vivaldi, Tomas Luis de Victoria
Monteverdi, - other Catholic Composers include, Pergolesi, Elgar, and of course, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis.
@@smc3735 “Druid” was a typo! I intended to type “period” and it auto-corrected. Not sure where you got your interpretation of my comment from though. Actuslly personally Mozart is among my least favorite composers. Also, as a composer, I appreciate and tolerate all religions and the music they have inspired, as well as the music they haven’t, and as such, respect that Allegri may have come from a similar spiritual background to yourself!
Damn, you are gorgeous !
agree about the key change being the essential transporting fctor - and the highnote just comes asa climax to it
I'm really impressed the singers don't get confused when learning all these different versions!
Each version, straight from the start:
1) 6:46
2) 8:28
3) 10:35
That is the most beautiful mistake I've ever heard in my life. My heart just soars when I hear it. This is the last thing I want to hear before I close my eyes for ever.
This proves, at least to me, how beautiful an instrument the human voice can be.
Thank you for this video. This kind of scholarship is extremely important, especially in these days of cultural collapse and general embrace of ignorance.
Wow that mistake with the C is just soul piercing. To quote Bob Ross, no mistakes just happy accidents (it certainly applies here).
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
Bob Ross, 😆
Nah, it’s a terrible mistake. If you want to hear that high C just transpose the original score up a fourth, but don’t mess with the composers work.
The first version is so soft and nice. Like Angels.
That one is called lamentations
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
@@chubbs-thechubbyninja4719 thanks
Well, that mistake may have as well been divine intervention.
Funnily enough, it's more like evolution. A random mutation / fault that proved to be more fit to survive than its ancestors.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
@@torsteinnordstrand170 You're ignoring the selection mechanism. Plenty of random things happen but they don't get selected randomly.
@@ShalomMulenga Man, I didn't even realize this song is psalm 50(51). Brings a tear to my eye
@@Cyrus_II Not sure what you mean, it was clearly selected for. Just as Jeff Buckley's rendition of Hallelujah has made us forget Cohen's original.
I'm so glad I found this video! This is fascinating. I obviously love the 'mistake' high C, but that alto solo on "misericordiam" gave me goosebumps.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
The singers are uncredited individually, but I think that's Helen Charlston as the contralto (formerly of Trinity College Cambridge). Yes, an awesome talent.
SAME! But i do think the c makes it so very gaudy.
The top c is so beautiful it gives me chills and nearly always brings me to tears to hear it
Years ago, I purchased the album of King's College choir first recording of the English version of the Miserere with a boy by the name of Roy Goodman hitting those soaring high Cs. I fell in love with this work. Since then I have found recordings of the original version. I love both of them. Yet, still when listening to the modern version, it is like someone, with those high Cs is trying to reach heaven and taking the listener with him/her.
Roy Goodman became an excellent violinist, especially in Baroque and early Classical music.
God, that soprano is just glorious! I love that there is so much resonance and warmth in her voice, even in the higher notes. Fantastic technique! Thank you for sharing your talent and the beauty of music.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
Quit spamming our page
For another, try the one in Nigel Short's Tenebrea Choir. The one I'm speaking of specifically is in the antiphonal choir, I put you in about 10 seconds before that stratospheric note. It's the same piece, BTW.
ua-cam.com/video/H3v9unphfi0/v-deo.html
This video itself is something to be celebrated. WELL DONE!
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
9:42 that sound was MASSIVE
also
6:45 (ori)
8:27 (2nd alter)
10:20 (the 'happy little accident')
12:10 (signature)
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
I *loathe* that 9:42 with a passion, I have to say.
@@chrismoule7242 maybe I'm uncultured but that whole part from 9:42 to 10:11 (especially at 10:05) just sounded super pitchy and off to me?? I guess it was meant to sound that way but the blond singer sounded off key to me and it threw me off. But maybe I'm just super used to the original lol
@@ghastlycandle I love the dissonance in that part. It's not off-key, it's just a chromatic note (or borrowed?) I'm assuming. It darkens it a bit. Love it
Grinch-like, my soul grew three times its size the first time I heard that 12:10 sound (and every time since!)
all the ornamentation on the second version is just so hypnotising, especially near the end
real. a full 15 min version of it would be incredible
I was babysitting for my music teacher around 1975/6 and had the radio on. This music played. I didn't catch either the name or the composer but that high note grabbed me. I wanted that music. It wasn't until some time in the 1990s when I bought a CD of "church music" and there it was. I didn't know its history until I saw this video. I do prefer the "wrong" version. It was and still is that very high note that I love, and it literally bring sudden tears to my eyes.
I actually prefer the female soprano version to the boy treble one. The way her voice expands from the rising point of that top C is breathtaking. God bless you.
Me too
Wow, I just randomly had this tune play in my head and so wanted to listen to it and then came across this video. You really do learn something new everyday! Best mistake ever! As opposed to the worst mistake ever which is what my parents have called me for 40 years.
Now that’s a lot of damage
Same, my guy -- and yet, here we are, just as magnificent as that "mistake" of a note.
Well, you can appreciate heavenly music so you can't be all that bad 😊.
They made a mistake they think but all they did was miss the largest opportunity of their life's, raising a child. God makes no mistakes child but humans on the other hand blinded by our ambitions stumble by the second. You are loved but we all have a struggle to face. Hold fast and elevate your struggle for the holy souls of purgatory.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
What a beautiful 'mistake'. Easily one of the most touching pieces of music for me. I'll take that high C any day. It's one of the parts I most look forward to in what is now a modern arrangement of the original piece through the centuries.
to me, the high C is what makes it, I just saw it a few days ago and let me tell you, it was an experience
@@fredgarv79 thats me right now having an experience. The Hi C version just blows me away
That contralto in versions one and two here is stunning. I’d love to hear more of her work!
As someone who's born in a non-Christian family this piece of music as well as this type of (church) music in general speaks straight to my heart and soul 🙌 ❤️ for me heaven exists in music and how it can heal a soul and mind. But i could listen to this piece in a church all day, sang by the ones who poses the knowhow of singing this song so heavenly. To be honest I've never spent more then a few hours in one for the loss of family or close friends... My thoughts go out for all my loved ones present or above. And thank you Allegri from the past, for this wonderfull peace of my soul from the warmth of your music. Which will last another hundreds of years thanks to our current technology of preservation and so on.... thank you thank you thank you☺️
You’re welcome to come to the Catholic church any time
It is hauntingly beautiful and reflective. It has always been one of my favourite pieces.
You hit the nail on the head..." hauntingly beautiful and reflective". I can definitely picture it during Tenebrae Services.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
This is one of the most beautiful works of music in the world. The fact that it is the text of one of the most powerful Psalms in scripture only adds to it's beauty.
Yep Psalm 51 is the “big” one
This channel needs millions of followers.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus ?
Either it’s the first “simple” version or the last one with the top C, it’s amazing! Just purely beautiful. ❤ No words can describe the feeling that overcomes me each time I listen to it. Tears rolling down my cheeks with a smile on my face. ❤
Yes, and you have all those English publishers, and music conductors (all Anglicans or Protestants, Not RC) to thank for it.
The 'mistake' fills me with gratitude and wonder. Weeping from the beauty of it
Sublime singing and so interesting to hear the history of this piece. Thank you.
Thanks Frances!
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
It’s almost so beautiful it hurts your soul I can’t hardly handle the beauty
Helen Charlston's voice is captivating. When she starts on "misericordiam" in the second version her tone is amazing.
I loved this. I read Ben Byram-Wigfield's essay a few years ago, and of course I have heard The Sixteen do their versions (or what is available of them on UA-cam).
This was perfect. I much prefer the original tonus peregrinus. I would like to see a version very much like the 18th Century version but with embellishments simplified for a less proficient church choir.
On the other hand, the simplicity of the original is amazing.
I have had no musical training, so I don't always know what you are talking about. But I am trying my best to understand everything and go back and compare each version. I find it fascinating I am learning so much
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
Fascinating! Really love how you took us through the various approaches with the historical context. More of this kind of thing please!
Thanks for the feedback Barbara! Noted!
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
Wow! It is absolutely beautiful, any of those versions. I take them all.
Is like being in heaven listening to the angels sing to our Lord. ✝️🙏Amén.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
This just goes to show that any piece takes on an indepenence from its composer, and becomes a common cultural heritage, always in the process of being reinvented each time it's recreated. Even a written form, with a long history of documentation, such as the classical music tradition, takes on certain folkloric aspects, much like oral tradition in folk music. Any piece of art becomes public, collective property as the piece itself, and its entire history, becomes the basis for its own interpretation.
The tonus peregrinus plain chant segment is much nicer!
Very helpful and beautiful video, thanks
Glad you enjoyed!
And very familiar. We use it among others.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
Wow! I heard the wrong version all these years! Thank god for your painstaking research and collaboration and the hard work of the Marian Consort. We finally have the right version which is much easier to sing too!
The original version by Allegri was more layered, melodious, and more simple than later versions, without the high change in pitch. I liked it better, especially for singing. The later version is what I use when I want to release a flood of tears and my pain flows like a swollen river. Both version are beautiful, but I am very, very grateful to have the original Miserere that you have recorded here. I must buy this song if you have it. Thank you for restoring authenticity to this beautiful piece. It is everlasting.
It's breathtaking in ALL forms. A glimpse of Heaven. Kudos to the Marian Consort!
Each version is wonderful in its own way... I could imagine each one sung on successive services. Thanks for such an insightful presentation and sterlng performance values.
Each version has its own inherent value and beauty. Although I would always know the final version as my favourite choral piece.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
"I adore this video for maybe the nerdiest reason…"
I hear your comment and I raise: I am here because of Civilization IV, and because I have fallen asleep to Medieval polyphonic music for years, including Allegri's Miserere.
I also started my deep affinity with this piece thanks to Civ IV, and often sleep to these pieces!
What an education you've provided about the versions of this piece. Thank you so much!
I randomly ran across Tenebrae performing the "mistake" version as my first exposure to it. When I would look for other performers doing it, I noticed I kept seeing various composers' names, dates, and that some sounded different. I kept thinking to myself that I just didn't remember the name of the piece and wouldn't ever figure it out again, so I'd just be happy with what I *thought* I heard one time. (I did eventually find Tenebrae's performance again.)
Now it all makes so much more sense. I look forward to listening to other versions with this knowledge.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
This got me through the agony of labor with my last child...not transporting me away from the pain, but carrying me through.
God heard this, and was pleased. Then He thought "Well, it could be better." Now we have the 'best' version. CHANGE MY MIND®
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus ?
Fantastic singers! And that alto! Wow! And the soprano really nailed that high C. Brilliant music but also very informative video. Thank you!
I found the 8:12 original version to be amazing, but the high-C is just so compelling and fits so well into the piece.
It's just the most incredible piece of music, whichever version you like.
All Magnificent 🙏♥️🙏
Jaw-droppingly beautiful in all its versions.
What an extraordinary lesson in beautiful music. Thank you for this.
All three different versions are beautiful and unique in their own way. And have their different interpretation.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
amazing how much sound so few singers can create! and so so beautifully . . .
Riveting listening in AotearoaNew Zealand on Good Friday morning. A wonderful programme of expert musicology and history delightfully and clearly presented as well as the glorious music of the three versions at the end. Thank you very much all concerned and the Kings Singers who lead me gently to this site. A blessed Easter to all
A blessed Easter to you too.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
Even mistakes belong in heaven along with the original creation. Thank you for this wonderful story.
That was a great lesson in music history. Thanx!
All versions are relevant and truly amazing, please accept all as a means cable of lifting humanity.
So impressed by the three versions.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
I have to say I love the original version's simplicity. But I always adored the timelessness of that style no matter how beautiful the modern is. And the challenge of performing an almost-famous work in such an exposed arrangement (i.e. not a massive choir) must have been quite something for you all!
So one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard in my life was made by mistake...cool
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
This is what the Divine Intervention is, no mistakes. The best piece ever written by the man, the balm for the soul, every version, extraordinarily sang in here.
Thank you. Eternal love and blessings to you all.
Wonderful. Where was this filmed please? The stonework is extraordinary.
A clear exposition of the reason for the extraordinary soaring effect of the high notes, and most unexpected use of the term "truckers' gearchange" in a serious piece about sacred music!
Like angels singing, beautiful. The 18th-century version is sublime, exquisite.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
Each version brings tears to my eyes. God sings through music like this.
Indeed. I only hope this is the song I hear as I enter heaven. Glorious!
Amen
Remarkable how a mistake changes this historic piece, only to make it be a signature identity. And this isn't a mistake in the negative sense of the word at all, but rather a happy one. And yet I find myself loving all three versions equally.
Thank you for this explicit explanation. I love the piece even more now.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
Thanks for the education. I never knew that whole story about this magnificent hymn until now. GOD bless and good evening.
Absolutely fascinating (and beautifully sung).
i love this video and to learn that the vetsion of miserere ive been loving to hear is a result of a " mistake" transctiption. I still love it because the soaring ornamentation added depths to the verses. But, hearing the original version is so divine and i love it.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
Oh man. That's stunning. Well done.
Excellent video. Thanks very much
11:03 I recognize the soprano on the left from Tenebrae's 2018 rendition of this same piece, also on UA-cam. She must be intimately familiar with it by now.
Also the alto at 10:57 is spectacular.
Another favorite of mine, and Voces 8, among others.
Extremely well done documentary. I prefer the modern version, mainly because that soaring high note IS the Miserere for me.
Absolutely stunning! Didn't know anything about the piece's journey.
Fascinating, thank you. I liked the 17thC one, didn't like the over-ornamented 18th, and of course the modern one is just gorgeous. Lovely singing.
Delightful presentation. Thank you.
As an author, I can imagine that Allegri himself knew that high C as a detail that an author almost writes but forgets in a "knock at the door" moment of distraction.....
Appreciate your telling of Songs history and how it Evolved. This Psalm is very important to us Catholics.
The psalms are important to all Christians. But the modern version Of Allegri's piece is not Catholic and is NOT ALLOWED IN either the Basilica of St. Peter's or the Sistine Chapel. It was published in England, and later recorded by English orchestras conducted by English conductors. The video makes that clear. I suspect most perhaps All were non-RC. If we must assign a denomination to this modern version it's Anglican, not RC.
Very interesting thanks for the knowledge. But I do like the modern version, and the story of Mozart, hearing it, and then going home to write out the score , which was then published. The first time I heard it, was on a radio 4 documentary. I was painting and decorating. I had to sit down among the paint pots and tears ran down my face. It touched my soul; my misery.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
What a truly, bloody fascinating little video! 👍👍👍 I have never learned so much in 10 minutes...
Thank you very much for this very interesting explanation and story! The format you chose was perfect to quickly grasp the differences and the similarities between the versions. Combined with the great production quality this makes for an outstanding video about a stunning piece.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
so beautiful. I wish I could understand just the basic style of such composition
Is it just me or is the highest note actually hit in the original version? At 7:50 there was a wonderfully delicate hight note carried in the background. AMAZING!
Stunning.. never fails to immerse me in peace and joy,, thank you,
Karen
Thank you for making this video. I'm so glad I stumbled upon it. Now I got the answer why I have always felt that the Miserere as sung today somehow does not fit the period of Allegri.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version of Miserere mei Deus
You put your finger on it there!
Beautiful
Thank you for this wonderful presentation! As a musicologist and a person with conservative liturgical tastes, I must say that I like the first best and the last least, and I would so love to hear a simpler falsabordone setting of this at Tenebrae during Holy Week. It maintains the power of the chant, the mode, the antiphonal psalmody, and the spirit of the service. Not to deny fans of the high C their due, but the non-remixed version should be better known, performed and recorded as well!!
This was such a fantastic video, thanks to the musicologist for his insight.
Fascinating. I like the first version best but see the appeal of the embellishments and changes.
ua-cam.com/video/GVPjxXNz2ec/v-deo.html what do you think about this version
What a thoroughly interesting young man and so beautifully explained for the layperson 👍