Miserere

Against the background of twelve operas, three symphonies and over a hundred romances, Gounod produced some 200 sacred works that marked the beginning and the end of his artistic career. He gained mastery and education under Antonin Reicha, Jean-François Le Sueur , and Fromantal Halévy, all renowned teachers at the Paris Conservatoire. He was honored with the Rome Prize of the Paris Conservatoire, resulting in a residency at the Villa Medici in Rome. Between 1839 and 1842 he travelled to Austria and Germany, and visited Leipzig, where he had a chance meeting with Mendelssohn. His first sacred compositions date from then. Between 1843 and 1848 he was a church organist and regent, and was about to accept the clerical ministry, but withdrew. Miserere is a motet from the 1880s in which, again like the Renaissance aesthetic, the aim is to accentuate and vocalize the text and the melody is stylized and focused.