Miserere in A minor

Vespers were held daily at 3 p.m. in Salzburg Cathedral; however, the court and court musicians only participated on the highest feast days of the liturgical year. Psalm 109 (according to the Latin Vulgate) and the Magnificat formed the fixed framework of Vespers compositions, while the selection of four intermediate psalms varied depending on the feast. When the Prince-Archbishop himself celebrated the Vespers, all the associated psalms and the Magnificat were performed with orchestral accompaniment; otherwise, only the *Dixit* and *Magnificat* were performed in full choral setting.

Litanies are prayers consisting of petitions by the congregation or choir. In addition to the usual performances during Vespers on Saturdays and before Marian feast days, *Lauretanian Litanies* were performed in Salzburg starting in 1765 on the Feast of St. John of Nepomuk (May 16) and on the following days in the chapel of Mirabell Palace and in the Franciscan Church. *Sacrament litanies* were sung in Salzburg Cathedral as part of the Forty Hours’ Devotion, which was held from Palm Sunday to the following Tuesday.

The *Miserere* (Psalm 50 in the Latin Vulgate) is one of the seven penitential psalms.