miserere.org maintains a unique and comprehensive discography of published recordings of Allegri’s Miserere. So much has been written about the Miserere that I wanted to find a new way to contribute without repeating what others have done before. By curating references to other resources, and creating some of its own, the project aspires to be the best starting point to discover more about this fascinating composition and how it has been performed and recorded over the years. Alongside the discography, you’ll find:
- An introduction to Gregorio Allegri, his setting of the Miserere, and his other works
- Research, reviews and features related to performances and recordings
- Digitally restored editions of out of print recordings
- Links to the best sources of scholarly information
My library of choral recordings included more than a few performances of the Miserere, and I had begun to compile a list as early as 2018 with the intention of listening to them on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The idea for miserere.org took shape in 2020 after performances of the Miserere in Holy Week, including one by my own choir, were cancelled as a result of COVID-19. A passion (or obsession) for collecting took over – fuelled by the need to focus on something outside of work during the first period of lockdown. I dusted off the original list, and decided to complete it by identifying and and obtaining every original recording.
I’d also been investigating how to extend the WordPress publishing platform to build databases, so the challenge of compiling a complete discography and making it available online was a perfect reason to learn some coding skills and combine the projects.
Find out how to use the Discography by starting here, or jump straight in and start browsing. You can find out more about the technology behind the site here.
Similar Passions, Great Inspirations
I’d like to highlight two other projects that have been an inspiration on the journey to create miserere.org:
The Archive of Recorded Church Music is a wonderful resource created and maintained by Colin Brownlee, whose passion for collecting recordings and broadcasts that represent choirs in the English Cathedral Tradition knows no bounds. From its beginnings in 2003, the archive represents an incredible effort to preserve so much of our recorded musical history and has been invaluable in helping me research some of the entries in the discography. I would urge you to visit both the Archive’s website and the ARCM YouTube Channel where you can enjoy thousands of digitised recordings. If miserere.org has been helpful to you please consider making a donation to the ARCM.
In 2024 I stumbled across the Ultimate Stabat Mater Website which aims to catalogue all known musical settings of the 13th Century Latin poem, Stabat Mater Dolorosa. This project started between 1992 and 1977 and also had its origins in a small collection of CDs and the passion of the collector, Hans van der Velden, to expand it. After his death in 2005, the project was continued by his partner, Hannie van Osnabrugge, who had created the original website. Each time I wonder if the effort to launch miserere.org is worthwhile, this is another of the inspirations that keeps me going and I heartily recommend you take a look.
About the Curator
I’ve always been passionate about music and technology – inspired from an early age by my family. My mother sang in our church choir and my father had a great interest in the new world of 1970’s “Hi-Fi” separates. My grandfather was a retired science teacher who encouraged me to take things apart to see how they worked, and my uncle – once a sound engineer for the BBC – was the original technology “early adopter”. I have fond memories of recording choral music from the radio to my grandfather’s reel-to-reel tape recorder, a temperamental Philips machine which required regular servicing and adjustment. His library of LPs and tape recordings included plenty of early music – particularly works by Palestrina and Lassus, and notably the much-loved compilation The World of King’s – released in 1972. Perhaps this is why popular music has never held any deep interest for me – I have preferred the sound world of renaissance and baroque choral music for as long as I can remember.
In 1983, as the Compact Disc launched in Europe, my uncle purchased one of the early Philips players and we compared vinyl and CD versions of Holst’s Planets Suite, switching back and forth between the two sound sources and marvelling at the differences (L’Orchestre National de France / Lorin Maazel / Sony 38DC 12). I started senior school in the same year, where music was the making of me – I studied the oboe, played in bands and orchestras, and sang in choirs at every possible opportunity. As part of the excellent provision for music education in Kent, we travelled regularly in the UK and across Europe. Firm favourites included a weekend of services at Coventry Cathedral, performing Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall, numerous tours to France, and a tour of Italy where we sang Victoria’s Motet and Mass O Quam Gloriosum at the Duomo in Florence, busked outside St Mark’s in Venice to fund our lunch, and gave concerts in churches across the Venetian islands.
From 1990-1993 I studied Music and Voice at the University of Hull and enjoyed singing in choirs within the University or the town. At the same time, I took advantage of the University Computing Service which gave me access to the Internet – before anyone really knew what it was – aided by a few close friends studying Computer Science. After a couple of years it was obvious that my technical skills had grown faster than those needed to excel in the field of music history, much to the frustration of my tutors! Still, I got my BMus (Hons) and enough practical computing experience to find a job with a brilliant small business for a year before joining Microsoft in 1994. I could finally afford my own CD player and retired the original Philips machine that my uncle had kindly passed on to me.
At Microsoft I supported the launch of Windows 95, built Internet services using technologies that evolved into Active Directory and Microsoft 365, and went on to lead the delivery one of the first broadband TV services in the UK. After 15 years I joined the product delivery group of a major European broadcaster and have continued to focus on technology delivery, leadership and transformation. The parallels that can be drawn between the worlds of music and work are a constant inspiration.
Although music was never far from my mind, and always playing in my head, I took a step back from practical music-making for a long time. In 2000 we moved to the North Oxfordshire Cotswolds where I had the opportunity to sing with a variety of local groups, most recently the choir of a prominent Catholic Church in the city of Oxford, as an alto / countertenor. We had begun to sing Allegri’s Miserere each year during Holy Week, until COVID-19 prevented that from happening in 2020 (and again in 2021). From that lost opportunity, this one was created.
Over the years, my CD (and now, vinyl) collection has continued to grow alongside my love and appreciation of choral music – particularly with the addition of so many more recordings that feature Allegri’s Miserere. I find that I can recall the most vivid memories of past performances when listening to certain works – not just the music, but the people, the venue, the atmosphere, and the joy of the singing itself. The ability to recall these feelings is one I value deeply, and I hope it will always remain with me – it certainly would not be possible without the opportunities that I’ve been lucky enough to have. With that in mind, the effort that has gone into this project is dedicated to everyone who has supported me in my musical endeavours, that in turn have continued to give me so much pleasure and fulfilment.
Mike Smith, Oxfordshire, June 2022 (updated February 2025)