Which composer wrote the famous Miserere traditionally associated with the Sistine Chapel?

Gregorio Allegri wrote the famous Miserere traditionally associated with the Sistine Chapel. His setting of Psalm 51 was composed around 1638 for use during Holy Week services, especially the Tenebrae observance.

The work became renowned for its haunting choral writing and for the tradition that the Vatican restricted the copying or performance of its particular version outside the chapel. The restriction helped create a legend around the piece, although the history of the ban is more complicated than popular retellings suggest.

Miserere means “Have mercy” in Latin and refers to Psalm 51, a penitential text. The composition is associated with the Sistine Chapel Choir, but Allegri was not the choir’s founding composer or its only important musician.

Palestrina is another major composer strongly linked with papal music, which makes him a common mix-up. The famous Sistine Chapel Miserere, however, is specifically Allegri’s setting.