Gregorio Allegri

Bio

Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652) was an Italian composer and priest of the Roman School. He is chiefly remembered for his setting of the Miserere mei, Deus, a nine-voice work long reserved for performance by the papal choir during Holy Week. Born in Rome, Allegri spent most of his career in the service of various Roman churches and, from 1629, as a singer in the Sistine Chapel choir. His surviving output consists largely of sacred polyphony—madrigali spirituali, motets, and masses—that reflects the austere, contrapuntal style cultivated in papal circles after the Council of Trent. Although few of his works circulated widely in print during his lifetime, the Miserere gained legendary status after Mozart famously transcribed it from memory in 1770. Modern editions and recordings have secured Allegri’s modest but enduring place in the early-music repertoire.