The All Allegri Concert March 29, 2009

San Francisco Renaissance Voices (Todd Jolly, Director) presents a concert of the music of one of the most popular composers of the late Renaissance, Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652). For contemporary audiences, Allegri is primarily known for his legendary Miserere; but during his life time he was a prolific composer writing numerous masses, motets and other works. In addition to the Miserere, San Francisco Renaissance Voices will perform other music he composed for use by the Vatican during Holy Week including his Missa che fa oggi il mio sole, a parody mass based on the madrigal of the same name by Luca Marenzio, his Lamentations of Jeremiah; and several motets.

WHO: San Francisco Renaissance Voices (Todd Jolly, Director)
WHAT: The All Allegri Concert - the music of Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652) including the legendary Miserere with Missa che fa oggi il mio sole, Lamentations of Jeremiah and motets
WHEN/WHERE: (Note: THREE concerts)
March 28, 7:30 pm - Seventh Avenue Performances, 1329 Seventh Avenue, San Francisco
March 29, 7:30 pm - All Saints Episcopal, 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto
April 5 - 4:00 pm - St. Johns Presbyterian, 2727 College Avenue, Berkeley
WEBSITE: www.SFRV.org

Allegri's Miserere, a setting of Vulgate Psalm 50 [51], is often celebrated as prime example of late Renaissance music even though technically it was written during the confines of the Baroque. The work acquired a considerable reputation for mystery and inaccessibility between the time of its composition and the era of modern recording; the Vatican, wanting to preserve its aura of mystery, forbade copies, threatening any publication or attempted copying with excommunication. They were not prepared however, as legend has it, for a special visit in 1770 from a 14-year-old Mozart, who, on a visit to Rome with his father, heard it but twice and transcribed it faithfully from memory, thus creating the first bootleg copy. Still performed at the Vatican during Holy Week, the work itself is rather basic (church music at the time placed a large gap between written and performance practice) but has become famous for the ornamentations in the solo parts (embellishments were largely placed in the hands of the performers tastes, a practice that continues today).

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Official Website: http://www.sfrv.org