`Louis Andriessen`s latest string quartet ...miserere... is connected to the famous Miserere by Allegri in the form: A B A C A B A B. The source for this connection is the German book Melodien by Helmut Krausser. In this book, set in Italy around 1400, the alchemist Castiglio starts a quest for the `26 magic melodies`. These secret melodies have strange powers, for example the power to enamour and to heal. Andriessen has previously used part of this melodic material in Remembering that Sarabande, a piece for four violas written for the 60th birthday of Annette Morreau. ...miserere... is in fact a set of variations.`
Miserere by Allegri in the form: A B A C A B A B. The source for this connection is the
German book Melodien by Helmut Krausser. In this book, set in Italy around 1400, the
alchemist Castiglio starts a quest for the `26 magic melodies`. These secret melodies have
strange powers, for example the power to enamour and to heal. Andriessen has previously
used part of this melodic material in Remembering that Sarabande, a piece for four violas
written for the 60th birthday of Annette Morreau. ...miserere... is in fact a set of
variations.`