Allegri's "Miserere Mei, Deus" is a chant for five-part a cappella choir in nine sections in the falsobordone style, in which four of the voices sing highly embellished and decorative passages, improvised by the original choir and later written down to be preserved. Allegri probably wrote only the basic chant. This work has been sung in the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week every year since it was composed, and the ornamentation was kept secret until historian Charles Burney discovered the original manuscript and reconstructed the complete work. "Miserere Mei, Deus" is also the work that Mozart transcribed from memory at age 14 -- a legendary feat of music history. ~ Blue Gene Tyranny, Rovi
