There are three misereres performed in Passion week. The first was sung on Wednesday, the second on Thursday and the last on Good Friday, all of which I attended.
To describe as they merit these exquisite pieces of vocal music requires a power which I do not possess. They must be heard to be comprehended.
It appears to me beyond the reach of art to bring an assemblage of human voices to the perfection which was here attained, and to produce such modulations of heavenly harmony.
Had I not been assured to the contrary, I could not have believed but they must have been assisted by the finest-toned instruments.1
extract from The Narrative of a Journey through France, &c. (London, 1822) by James Holman FRS, pp.159-160, edited by Joe Rizzo Naudi.
I can hear the exquisite music 😊