(Give peace, Lord) is the

incipit The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...

of two different

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

chant texts: a votive

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely compo ...

and an

introit The Introit () is part of the opening of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, psalm verse and '' Gloria Patri'', which are spoken or sung at the ...

. Both have been the base for musical compositions to be used inside or outside the liturgy. Paraphrased versions of the text were created by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

in German in 1529, "Verleih uns Frieden", also set by several composers. In English, the first of these texts entered the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

'' as one of the

preces In Christian liturgical worship, ; ), also known in Anglican prayer as the Suffrages or Responses, describe a series of short petitions said or sung as versicles and responses by the officiant and the gathered worshippers respectively. Versi ...

at Morning and Evening Prayer (Evensong).

History and musical settings

Latin

The text dates from the 6th or 7th century and is based on biblical verses , and . Settings of the Latin text include ''

Da pacem Domine (Give peace, Lord) is the incipit of two different Latin chant texts: a votive antiphon and an introit. Both have been the base for musical compositions to be used inside or outside the liturgy. Paraphrased versions of the text were created by Ma ...

'' by

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

(2004) and ''Da pacem Domine'' by

Juan María Solare Juan María Solare (born August 11, 1966) is an Argentina, Argentine composer and pianist. Education Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Solare studied and received his diploma in piano (María Teresa Criscuolo), Musical composition, composition (F ...

(2018). The inscription "Da pacem Domine" appears beside the figure of an angel playing on lute, on the so-called Jankovich saddle (c. 1408-1420), attributed to King

Sigismund of Hungary Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

German

wrote a paraphrase in German, "Verleih uns Frieden". A second stanza, beginning "Gieb unsern Fürsten", was later added to Luther's text by

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570), was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present- ...

and in this form the text endured as a

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

, appearing in the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Other settings include a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

in the collection

Geistliche Chormusik ' (Sacred choral music) is a collection of motets on German texts for choir by Heinrich Schütz. It was printed in Dresden in 1648 as his ' ( Op. 11), and comprises 29 individual settings for five to seven voices, which were assigned numbers 3 ...

by Heinrich Schütz (published 1648), and '' Verleih uns Frieden'', a

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the Germany, German Baroque music, Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chor ...

by Mendelssohn.

English

A translation of the antiphon entered the

as part of the

at Morning and Evening Prayer (also known as Mattins and Evensong). The ''preces'', also known as ''suffrages'', are prayers in call-and-response format. Choral settings of these services, including this text, have been set my many composers, often titled ''Preces and Responses''. The similar phrase

Peace for our time "Peace for our time" was a declaration made by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in his 30 September 1938 remarks in London concerning the Munich Agreement and the subsequent Anglo-German Declaration. The phrase echoed Benjamin Disr ...

has also been used in political contexts.

The introit

A different text with the same first line is the introit for the Pentecost XVIII, based on and (Psalm 121 in the

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

). The text is as follows:

References

Sources

Da pacem Domine
text and translations in the

Choral Public Domain Library The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL), also known as the ChoralWiki, is an online database for choral and vocal music. Its contents primarily include sheet music in the public domain or otherwise freely available for printing and performing ...

Da pacem Domine (Introit)
text and translations in the

Verleih uns Frieden
German hymn in the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Da Pacem Domine 6th century in music 7th century in music Christian hymns in Latin 16th-century hymns in German