James Russel in Chapel of Pope Sixtus V, Vatican City - 30 March, 1741, at night
from Letters from a young painter abroad to his friends in England. Adorned with copper plates. Volume 1, page 52:
In the evening his holyness returned into the chapel of SIXTUS, where the Miserere (LI Psalm) was sung by voices, without any instruments accompanying them; which is accounted one of the finest pieces of music that ever was composed. And really, there is something so solemn, and so affecting in it, that it is beyond expression: and it is so highly esteemed, that the master of the chapel is forbidden, under pain of excommunication, to give a copy of it himself, or to suffer any one to transcribe it.
James Russel, Letters from a young painter abroad to his friends in England. Adorned with copper plates. Volume 1, volume 1 (London, 1750), p. 52. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1509102110655 accessed: 20 December, 2024
Listeners
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Miserere
written by Not specified (Allegri) |
Experience Information
Date/Time | 30 March, 1741, at night |
Medium | live |
Listening Environment | in the company of others, indoors, in public |