Gregorio Allegri composed Miserere mei, Deus in Rome in the 1630s for use in the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week, setting Psalm 51 in intricate polyphony for two choirs. For many years the Vatican kept the work closely guarded, and the story that the young Mozart transcribed it from memory in 1770 helped make it legendary. Today the piece is best known for its ethereal high soprano passage, and short excerpts circulate widely online as shorthand for reverence, sorrow, and timeless beauty in films, documentaries, and social video edits.