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Cat. 0001 |
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Genre: |
Motet |
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Liturgical Use: |
Devotional |
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Vocal Disposition: |
SSTTBarBB |
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Price: |
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Miserere Nostri belongs to the English Elizabethan tradition of setting the Miserere texts,
Miserere Mei, Miserere Mihi and Miserere Nostri to canonic
musical settings, primarily as a demonstration of technical skill.
Tallis’s setting is a canon six in two; six
voices are used to create a simultaneous or double canon. The first is a canon
at the unison, between the two highest voices. Superius 1 is the antecedent (the first sounding voice) by one semi-breve. The second
is a mensuration canon of four voices, all beginning simultaneously. The
Discantus part is the antecedent with the Contra tenor in canon in double augmentation (the notes are four
times longer). The two Bassus parts are in canon per
Arsin et Thesin, that is they are inverted so that upward intervals in the
antecedent are downward in the consequent
(the answer). Bassus 2 is augmented (the note values are doubled) and Bassus 1
is triple augmented (the note values are eight times longer).
Despite this complexity and the consequently dense texture, Miserere Nostri sounds unmistakably like Tallis containing no
stilted or contrived writing that can sometimes pervade in less successful canonic essays.
The two leading canonic voices, Superius and Discantus are both marked with signa
indicating in the case of the Superius part the point at which the consequent
enters, and in the case of the Discantus part the extent of the
mensural canons.
Tallis wrote Miserere Nostri during the reign of Elizabeth I sometime before 1575. In his hand-written
score of 1770 (Lbm Add. MSS. 14398) Mr. Warren ascribes it to 1570, though it is not known on what
authority.
Text
The text appears at least twice in the liturgy: as verse 3 of psalm 122 and as the anti-penultimate
verse of the Te Deum. The phrase Miserere nostri is an alternative form of the more familiar
Miserere
nobis found in the mass ordinary.
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Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri. |
Have mercy on us Lord have mercy on us. |
Sources
Cantiones Sacrae 1575. A collection of
Latin motets published jointly by Tallis and his younger contemporary, William Byrd, in 1575
and designed primarily for use in private performance. It was typeset by Thomas Vautrollerius
under the supervision of the composers but since it was the first published music in England their
lack of experience clearly shows. Not all errors were spotted at the proof stage and frequently the
print run was stopped and further corrections made. Each one of the 15 or so extant copies of
Cantiones Sacrae differ in minor detail. The Discantus part book ascribes Miserere Nostri
to W. Birdi rather than T. Tallis - a printer’s error which is perhaps explicable because motet
number 29 is Miserere Mihi by Byrd. A further error is the omission of the time signatures in the
Superius Secundus and Contra Tenor parts.
Miserere Nostri is the thirty fourth and final motet in the collection. The index describes
Miserere Nostri thus;
6 partes in duabus, cum, uni parte ad placitum. (Canon six in two,
one freely composed part).
The part books all have inscriptions as follows;
| Superius: |
Due partes in una. Canon in uni sonus |
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Superius secundus: |
Canon in uni sonus |
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Discantus: |
Quatuor partes in una, Canon in uni sonus, Crescit in duplo, Arsim & thesim |
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Contra tenor: |
Canon in uni sonus |
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Tenor: |
Voluntaria pars |
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Bassus: |
Canon in uni sonus |
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Bassus secundus: |
Canon in uni sonus |
Editorial Procedures and Conventions
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Clefs and signatures:
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The original clefs and
signatures are indicated in the prefatory staves.
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Note values and barring:
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Note values have been kept at the original values. Bar lines have been
inserted to give 23 bars of two semibreves each.
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| Transposition:
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The pitch has been transposed up by a tone making it
suitable for performance with two Sopranos, two tenors, baritone and two basses.
Transposition up a further tone would enable altos to tackle the tenor
parts, with tenors being able to sing the baritone part. |
Voices:
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The voice names are given in the prefatory staves. In
Cantiones Sacrae, the Superius 2 and Bassus 2 parts are given in the Sexta pars part book.
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Accidentals:
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No accidentals have been inserted or suggested, and none are required.
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| Text and Underlay: |
Text underlay given explicitly
in the source is printed in the normal serif typeface. Editorial verbal repetitions
indicated in the source by the sign ij are shown in italics. |
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