Latin song

Dona nobis pacem

Grant Us Peace

Lyrics

Canon

, ;

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;

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Comprehension drill

3 questions on what you just read. Get one wrong and the story will show you where it says otherwise.

The words are the closing petition of the Agnus Dei of the Latin Mass, in continuous use for over a thousand years; the three-part round melody is anonymous, orally transmitted, in print since the 19th century, and spuriously attributed to Mozart or Palestrina without evidence. Both parts are public domain beyond argument. Source text. Translation ours.

Three words. That is the entire text, and they are a complete Latin sentence doing three different grammatical jobs: is the imperative of donare, grant; is the dative of nos, to us; is the accusative of pax, peace. Command, indirect object, direct object - the skeleton of Latin syntax in one breath.

The words are the last petition of the Agnus Dei, sung in the Mass for over a thousand years. The round that carries them is younger and anonymous - tradition likes to blame Mozart, with no evidence - and it is the first canon most choirs on earth ever learn, because each voice sings the same easy line and the harmony assembles itself.

A pronunciation note for this course: the linked choir sings church Latin, where pacem is PAH-chem. Classical Latin, which our audio uses, would say PAH-kem. Both are real traditions; know which one you are hearing.