Charles Burney

The Present State of Music in France and Italy (2nd, corrected edition)

London: T. Becket and Co., 1773

Rome

of the chapel, and the torches of the balus-
trade, are extinguished, one by one; and
the last verse of this Psalm is terminated
by two choirs; the Maestro di Capella
beating time slower and slower, and the
singers diminishing or rather extinguishing
the harmony, by little and little, to a
perfect point *.

It is likewise performed by select voices,
who have frequent rehearsals, particularly
on the Monday in Passion Week, which
is wholly spent in repeating and polishing
the performance.

This composition used to be held so
sacred, that it was imagined excommuni-
cation would be the consequence of an at-
tempt to transcribe it. Padre Martini told
me that there were never more than three
copies of it made by authority, one of
which was for the Emperor Leopold,