Some composers are remembered only for one piece, even if they deserve much more attention. In the Roman School, we have examples like Pitoni who for the choirs of half the world is just the composer of the Cantate Domino (but wrote much else). Another example is composer and priest Gregorio Allegri (1584-1652), mainly known only for his famous Miserere for Holy Week. This piece is a classic for many medium-high level choirs and there are certainly good reasons for this, as we shall see later.
Gregorio Allegri was born in Rome to a father who worked as a coachman. His brothers Bartolomeo and Domenico also devoted themselves to music but with less success. Gregorio, who was educated at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi where he sang as a child in the Musical Chapel, was a pupil of the two Naninos, whose importance we have already noted. After his voice change, young Gregorio remained in the chapel for some time as a tenor and then was maestro di cappella at the metropolitan church in Fermo. In 1628 he was in Rome as director of the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia while in 1629 he joined the Sistine Chapel Choir as a countertenor (biographical notes from the well-written entry in the Treccani encyclopedia). He died at his home near the Pantheon in Rome in 1652 and was buried in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, in the tomb of the papal singers, although a few years later.
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