"Agnus Dei" is a standard Latin text from the Mass, and is part of the Ordinary (the five or six sections of the Mass that remain the same from day to day). With the repetition of the first line of text, the heartfelt prayer of petition and yearning is in three parts. This setting follows the tradition of using similar music for the first two statements, with some contrast in the music for the concluding "dona nobis pacem."