Miserere

In music, title of a work using the text of Psalm 51, Miserere mei, Deus .. (Latin ‘have mercy upon me, O God ...’). It is sung (often in plainsong) during the Roman Catholic office (or non-Eucharistic service) of Lauds, at sunrise, during the week preceding Easter Sunday. Simple polyphonic settings of the text have been made by early composers such as Josquin Des Prez and Gregorio Allegri (the work of the latter is famous for its embellishments and popular with modern audiences). Later composers have set Misereres, including Giuseppe Verdi in the opera Il trovatore (1852).