Christe, du Lamm Gottes Christe, du Lamm Gottes "" (Christ, you Lamb of God) is a Lutheran hymn, often referred to as the German Agnus Dei. Martin Luther derived the words as a translation of the Latin Agnus Dei from the liturgy of the mass, and the tune from an older model. The hymn was first published in 1528. It has been the basis for several musical settings by composers such as Bach, Mendelssohn and Hessenberg. It appears in the current German hymnals, both the Protestant "Evangelisches Gesangbuch" (EG 190:2) and the Catholic "Gotteslob" (GL 208). When Luther introduced the Reformation, he tried to
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