Dona nobis pacem

- Colin Brumby

PDF Sample

Use: General
Required Resources: SATB choir
Language: Latin

Although one could never hope to replicate Bach's magnificent Dona nobis pacem movement from his Mass in b minor, this work by Colin Brumby is certainly reminiscent of the Bach work.

Similarities:

1. Same Latin text
2. SATB voices
3. Contrapuntal, beginning with the bass voice
4. Scholarly fugal style

Differences:

1. Key of d minor, rather than D Major — but ends in F Major
2. Can be sung a cappella, or with organ doubling voices
3. Much easier

The work opens as a strict fugue, beginning with the basses in d minor, followed by the tenors in g minor, then altos (d minor) and sopranos (g minor). After this exposition, the pattern is repeated, with the voices entering A-S-B-T. The last third of the three-page work is a homophonic section, built on the theme in the bass line. The last five measures bring the work from d minor to its concluding "pacem" in F Major.