Beautiful music, indeed! Gregorio Allegri’s MISERERE is so extraordinary and so exquisite that it inspired an interesting legend. SPOILER ALERT: Written in the 1630s, Allegri’s MISERERE was only supposed to be performed in the Vatican, which didn’t allow it to be performed anywhere else, and didn’t allow the music outside the Sistine Chapel. As the story goes, in 1770 a 14 year old Mozart attended two services and heard the Miserere, committed it to memory, and copied it out, essentially “leaking’ the secretive composition to the outside world.
It’s a great story. Sadly, it’s not true. 🙁
Mozart’s father Leopold was an ambitious stage father, and we know he would say anything to make his son look more impressive. Based on several documents, there were “outside” performances and copies of the music predating Mozart’s by decades. But even knowing the truth in no way diminishes this transcendent music.