The article discusses a new approach to the study of manuscripts and editions of the legendary Gregorio Allegri’s “Miserere.” Instead of reconstructing the composition on the basis of available sources, the author of the article explores the tradition of fixing the musical text of the composition in 17th—21st centuries. Thus, the focus is on the process of transition from improvised polyphony (in the first manuscripts of “Miserere,” created after Allegri’s death) to a fixed musical text with performing directions (in the second half of the 18th—early 21st centuries editions). During this evolution (which took place in three phases), the main element of the “Miserere”—the psalm tone, underlying the fauxbourdon and psalmodic sections—was gradually lost, which caused not only editorial errors, but also “imbalance” in the perception of the whole structure.
Khlyupina, A. A. “Historical metamorphoses of the psalm tone in Gregorio Allegri’s ‘Miserere.’” Muzykal’naya akademiya [Music Academy], no. 1, 2022, pp. 26–53, doi:10.34690/217. (In Russ.)
Acknowledgments
Doctor of Art Criticism, Full Professor Rimma L. Pospelova, under whose guidance the author of the article developed the subject as part of her term paper.
