Lamb of God Lamb of God sung or recited during the fraction of the Host. It is said to have been introduced into the Mass by Pope Sergius I (687–701). "Agnus Dei" has been set to music by many composers, usually as part of a Mass setting. In Christian iconography, an Agnus Dei is a visual representation of Jesus as a lamb, since the Middle Ages, usually holding a standard or banner with a cross. This normally rests on the lamb's shoulder and is held in its right foreleg. Often the cross will have a white banner suspended from it charged with a
Agnus Dei (Barber) to a tension. A similar pattern follows in measures 5 to 8 on the words "qui tollis peccata mundi" (who takes away the sins of the world), moving down on "peccata mundi". The repetition of the call "Agnus Dei" is set as variation of the beginning, intensified by upward leaps of fifths and octaves, and by the solo soprano reaching the highest note of the piece, C-flat. Then the alto takes over the melody, marked "più f[orte] sempre espressivo" (somewhat stronger and always expressive), while the soprano sings "miserere nobis" (have mercy on us) for the first time on a