Dona Nobis Pacem

"Grant Us Peace"

A Three-Part Round

Words and Music: Latin Traditional
A Portion of the Agnus Dei from the Roman Catholic Mass

1. Dona nobis pacem, pacem,
dona nobis pacem.

2. Dona nobis pacem.
Dona nobis pacem.

3. Dona nobis pacem
dona nobis pacem.

Note:

A portion of the Agnus Dei from the Roman Catholic Mass: It is the invocation to the Lamb of God to have mercy and grant peace to the worshippers. It is said to have been introduced into the Mass by Pope Sergius I in 687. The Latin form:

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

English Translation:

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

The Agnus Dei is said to be based on Based on John 1:29 (KJV):

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Dona Nobis Pacem was set as a separate, final movement in Bach's Mass in B Minor (IV. Sanctus, Hosanna, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei, 1749). The complete score can be seen and downloaded at the International Music Score Library Project-IMSLA, BWV 232  (http://imslp.org/index.php?title=Messe_H_moll_BWV_232_%28Bach%2C_Johann_Sebastian%29).

Sheet music for Dona Nobis Pacem can be found at Hymnsite.com; their Hymn Search page is http://www.hymnsite.com/search.htm . Another version of the sheet music can be found at musicnotes.com: Dona Nobis Pacem (http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0033686) (plug-in required to see and print the music).

This is also the title of a poem by John Denver (subtitled The Peace Poem), and a cantata by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1937).

It was recorded by SKVE as a part of LibriVox's Christmas Short Works Collection 2006: Dona Nobis Pacem.

Sources:

• Agnus Dei from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnus_Dei)

• Agnus Dei from the Catholic Encyclopedia 1907 at NewAdvent.org (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01221a.htm)

• Dona Nobis Pacem from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dona_nobis_pacem)

• Dona Nobis Pacem from goforthand.blogspot.com (http://goforthand.blogspot.com/2006/11/dona-nobis-pacem.html)

• Dona Nobis Pacem by Ralph Vaughan Williams, at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dona_nobis_pacem_(Vaughan_Williams))

• Dona Nobis Pacem at Hymnsite.com (http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh376.sht)

• Dona Nobis Pacem at musicnotes.com (http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0033686) Note that a plug-in required to see and print the music.

• International Music Score Library Project-IMSLA, BWV 232

• Mass in B Minor from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_B_Minor)

All sites accessed January 15, 2007.

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