Miserere alternativo

The legendary Miserere by Allegri remains, four centuries after its first performance, one of the most beloved a cappella choral works ever written. And yet the version we so love nowadays is in fact a ‘bootleg’ version from the 18th century… The Flemish Radio Choir will perform an older version, unknown but just as (if not more) gripping.

That this work continues to provide inspiration to this day is clear from the work of the composer James MacMillan: a deeply religious man, in his contemporary Miserere he reaches back to that of Allegri.

The Miserere by the Flemish composer Rudi Tas combines respect for tradition with contemporary influences. In the case of John Tavener, it was the Orthodox rather than the Catholic liturgy that inspired his Svyati: the moment of departure, when the coffin is closed and the deceased’s body leaves the church – the temporal becomes the eternal.

Flagey, Vlaams Radio Koor