Has any music ever come as close to lifting the veil as Allegri's Miserere Mei? The sound one hears at time 4:48 (ironically the same number as in a much more modern, and in its own way much sadder work of art) in the video below seems to reach as close to the elusive sublime/divine (take your pick) as one could imagine. Little wonder that legend has Mozart "stealing" this music from the Vatican, after hearing it as a boy in the Sistine Chapel and then writing it down from memory.
A Mundane Comedy is Dominic Kelleher's new book, which will be published in mid 2024. The introduction is available here and further extracts will appear on this site and on social media in the coming months.