Music For Lent: Miserere Mei by Antonio Lotti

"King David Does Repentance" by Albrecht Durer

   As we begin the penitential Season of Lent, it seems a good time to look at some the numerous musical settings for Psalm 51, which is traditionally held to have been written by King David as an expression of repentance after he engineered the death of Uriah the Hittite in order to steal his wife, Bathsheba.  
     The most famous musical treatment of this psalm was composed by Gregorio Allegri in the 1630's, various performances of which I have posted over the last few years (most recently here). Last year I also posted lesser-known (but still powerfully beautiful and moving) renditions by Pergolesi and Josquin des Prez.  I'm continuing that tradition this Lent by posting Antonio Lotti's Miserere below, and Jan Dismas Zelenka's setting of the 51st Psalm on the blog Nisi Dominus.
     Lotti Lived from 1667-1740.  He spent his entire musical career (except for a brief period in Dresden from 1717-1719) at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice as a singer, organist and, eventually, maestro di cappella. may not be well-known today (at least to those of us who, like me, are not experts), but he was an important and influential composer and teacher in his day. His Wikipedia entry tells us that

     Lotti is thought to have influenced Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Johann Dismas Zelenka, all of whom had copies of Lotti's mass, the Missa Sapientiae.

     Lotti was a notable teacher, with Domenico Alberti, Benedetto Marcello, Giovanni Battista Pescetti, Baldassare Galuppi, Giuseppe Saratelli and Johann Dismas Zelenka among his pupils.

In the clip below the piece is performed by the UCLA Early Music Ensemble, conducted by Alexandra Grabarchuk.

Josquin Des Prez: Miserere mei Deus

Nathan confronts David with his sin: the occasion for Psalm 51

    For centuries Catholic artists have been creating beautiful things to honor God.  We have accumulated a treasury of works of unequaled loveliness – including a veritable horde of the most beautiful music ever conceived.  Sadly, most of it is rarely heard.  I’m not going to take this opportunity to complain about the contemporary music that is used in the liturgy today, although I certainly could point out that most of it is banal, trivial, and, sometimes even heretical.  No, I’m simply going to point out that in its place we could be praising our Lord with something truly magnificent.

     Case in point: Josquin Des Prez’s setting for Psalm 51.  Allegri’s “Miserere” (which I’ve posted more than once) is the most famous musical treatment of this Psalm; yesterday I posted another, Pergolesi’s version.  Des Prez makes a contribution worthy of their company:

Pergolesi: Miserere mei Deus

"You are that man!" David and Nathan by Matthias Scheits

     Psalm 51 (called the “Miserere” from its first word in Latin) is one of the greatest of penitential prayers.  According to the Bible itself, it is “A Psalm of David, when the Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.”  Nathan came to King David, of course, to confront him after the king had committed adultery with Bathsheba,  and had arranged to have her husband Uriah killed so he could marry her himself. The Psalm is an expression of David’s sorrow after he has realized the magnitude of his sin.

     This psalm is closely associated with Lent because of its penitential character.  It has also been set to music many times, the most famous being the setting composed by Gregorio Allegri for use in the Sistine Chapel (I have posted three different recordings of Allegri’s “Miserere” since I started this blog fourteen months ago). 

     It seemed appropriate, during this first week of Lent, to investigate some of the lesser-known but still beautiful settings for this psalm.  The version, below was composed by Pergolesi (Giovanni Battista Draghi), an immensely talented composer who, sadly, lived for only 26 short years (1710-1736):  

Miserere mei, Have Mercy on Me - Psalm 51

Detail from Michelangelo's Last Judgment

Psalm 51 (Miserere mei) is the great penitiential psalm attributed to King David, and is closely associated with the Season of Lent, which begins next week.  I particularly like this video because it combines images from Michelangelo's amazing frescoes in the Sistine Chapel (for which Allegri's music was specifically composed) with the text of the Psalm, in both Latin and English.  This is a great way to begin preparing the heart to encounter the Pascal Mystery over the next course of the Liturgical Year.

Miserere mei Deus secundum misericordiam tuam iuxta
multitudinem miserationem tuarum dele iniquitates meas.

Miserere Mei Deus

I've posted a version of this before, but this video is so amazing I had to do it again - besides, the first time had only six page views.  On that earlier occasion I commented thusly:

Allegri's Miserere had been jealously guarded by the Vatican, which did not allow the score to be published for a century and a half, until the fourteen year old Mozart heard it once, and promptly went back to his room to write down the musical notation from memory (http://www.classicfm.com/composers/mozart/guides/mozart-allegri-miserere/).  Vertitas alienior quam Fictio est.

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Tallis Scholars - Allegri: Miserere

Another unspeakably beautiful piece of sacred music - I saw this clip on Fr. Z's blog (http://wdtprs.com/blog/) today. Allegri's Miserere had been jealously guarded by the Vatican, which did not allow the score to be published for a century and a half, until the fourteen year old Mozart heard it once, and promptly went back to his room to write down the musical notation from memory (http://www.classicfm.com/composers/mozart/guides/mozart-allegri-miserere/).  Vertitas alienior quam Fictio est.