Give us peace

The focus of today’s post isn’t really Advent or Christmas related, but the subject certainly is.

“Dona Nobis Pacem” comes from the part of the Roman Catholic Mass (or Episcopalian or Lutheran service) where congregants ask Christ to be merciful and bestow peace.

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.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

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

The song is a canon—a single line of melody, where different voices join in at a different duration of time, thus forming a polyphony of sorts. “Dona Nobis Pacem” is a repeating canon, so it’s a round. Like you used to sing at camp. In fact, you may well have sung this at camp, because it’s not Christmas-specific.

A friend of mine performs in the Washington Revels most Decembers. Revels are put on in several cities in the US, each year the local group decides on a theme. I went last year, when it was a French-Canadian story, with a flying canoe and everything. During the show, there are a few pieces that invite audience participation, and “Dona Nobis Pacem” is one of them. The audience was divided into three parts and we sang the round, each led by a section of the cast.

Here I’m giving you a rendition by a children’s choir that may or may not be called “Funny Voices” of the Children’s Exemplary Choral Studio “Kamerton”, of Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Google Translate was not my best friend on this.)

But I’m also giving you a version sung by some happy campers. It’s a little rougher, but that’s the beauty of the piece: it’s very forgiving.

In my opinion, we can all do with some divine peace.