Performances of Allegri’s Miserere in English that include the famous high ‘C’ as in the recording released in 1964 by King’s College, Cambridge. “Traditional” recordings in the Discography do not include additional ornamentation beyond what is included in the published score. Performances in English typically follow the edition by Ivor Atkins (Novello 1951) with text taken from the translation of Psalm 51 in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
This second Golden Hour from Winchester again draws on the inexhaustible riches of the church music repertory to present a sample of some of the different types and styles heard in the course of the cathedral’s day to day life. [from the cover notes]
A fascinating recording by the A Cappella Choir of Christ’s Hospital School. The Miserere is unique in its use of a modified setting of the SATB section (the remainder mirrors Atkins), which both compresses and simplifies whilst still retaining the high ‘C’. Other features of the album include ‘Sound the Trumpet’ (Purcell), an excellent ‘Hear my Prayer’ Mendelssohn), and the school hymn ‘Praise the Lord for our Foundation’. Andrew March, the 1st treble – should be highly commended. John Shippen, who conducted the Miserere, was kind enough to share details of the recording with miserere.org.
This four-disc compilation box set released in 1979 is a hint towards the more recent ‘Complete Argo Recordings’ CD box sets issued by Decca. It contains a wealth of music from King’s on the Argo label, including of course the Miserere from ‘Evensong for Ash Wednesday’.