Description
Da Pacem is a setting of a Latin hymn text. The piece is intended as a companion to Antoine Brumel’s (c.1460-c.1512) setting of the same text. Brumel’s piece is a short double canon at the 4th, one beat delayed. Similarly, throughout this piece all pairs of vocal parts are canons in 4ths (or, in one case, 5ths) one beat delayed. Richard Barnard took inspiration from the beautiful flickering texture of Brumel’s setting, which constantly shifts between rich chords and bare octaves as short overlapping fragments of melody end and begin again.
This setting for unaccompanied divisi SATB choir is 4 minutes long, suitable for professional or experienced amateur choir. It was written for Orlando Chamber Choir and director Lucy Goddard.
Da pacem, Domine,
In diebus nostris,
Quia non est alius
Qui pugnet pro nobis
Nisi tu, Deus noster.
Give peace
In our time, O Lord,
For there is none other
That fights for us
But you, our God.
