In 1638, Gregorio Allegri composed a setting of Miserere mei, Deus (Psalm 51) for the Sistine Chapel. The apocryphal story is that the Vatican allowed there to be only three copies in existence, and they were locked away for safe-keeping so that no one could copy or perform the work. Fast forward to 1764-65, when a young Mozart heard a performance of Allegri’s composition, went back to his inn, and flawlessly copied it from memory.

Fast forward again, this time to 1989, when Estonian composer Arvo Pärt set the same text. Pärt’s Miserere is described as one of his “most dramatic and contrasting pieces…” From these two pieces of darkness, we move to hope and light, working our way through a Latvian “Plaudite, Psallite” and American spirituals, including Thomas Dorsey’s “Precious Lord.” The concert closes with the gorgeous “Amazing Grace,” arranged by Ēriks Ešenvalds.