Agnus Dei from the Nostre Dame Mass
Listening Guide
Begins at 24:52: Listen on YouTube
Oxford Camerata directed by Jeremy Summerly
Composer: Guillaume de Machaut
Composition: Agnus Dei from the Nostre Dame Mass
Date: c. 1364 CE
Genre: Movement from the Ordinary of the Mass
Form: A–B–A
Nature of Text: Latin words from the Mass Ordinary: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis" (Lamb of God, who takes away the sin, have mercy on us)
Performing Forces: small ensemble of vocalists
What we want you to remember about this composition:
- It is part of the Latin mass.
- It uses four-part polyphony.
- It has a slow tempo.
Other things to listen for:
- Its melodies lines have a lot of melismas
- It is in triple meter, symbolizing perfection
- It uses simultaneous intervals of fourths, fifths, and octaves, also symbolizing perfection.
- Its overall form is A–B–A.
Timing
Performing Forces, Melody, and Texture
Text and Form:
Small ensemble of men singing in four-part polyphony; a mostly conjunct melody with a lot of melismas in triple meter at a slow tempo. The section ends with a cadence on open, hollow-sounding harmonies such as octaves and fifths.
A: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis
This section begins with faster notes sung by the alto voice. Note that it ends with a cadence to hollowing-sounding intervals of the fifth and octave, just like the first section had.
B: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis