Non nobis Domine (Anonymous)

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• CPDL #10739: Sibelius 3.
  

Editor: Philip Legge (added 2006-01-15).   Score information: A4, 3 pages, 96 kbytes   Copyright: 2006 Philip Legge

Edition notes: Included in the TUMS Busking Book. PDF also contains a setting of the same text by Philip Legge, and Fine knacks for ladies by John Dowland.

• CPDL #10618:

Editor: Paul Cienniwa (added 2006-01-07).   Score information: Letter, 1 pages, 22 kbytes   Copyright: Personal: to be used freely

Edition notes: This three-part canon is arranged for SAB.

• CPDL #6783: Scorch Sibelius 2.
  

Editor: John D. Smith (added 2004-02-25).   Score information: A4, 1 pages, kbytes   Copyright: Personal

Edition notes: Scores listed alphabetically by composer, some scores are also available as PDF files.

• CPDL #5935: Scorch Sibelius 2.
  

Editor: Bettina Blokland (added 2003-11-06).   Score information: A4, 1 pages, kbytes   Copyright:

Edition notes: Scorch plugin required. To view scores and midi files click on letter at bottom of page which matches composer's last name.

• CPDL #3721: Sibelius 2.
  

Editor: Stuart McIntosh (added 2002-06-24).   Score information: Letter, 3 pages, 84 kbytes   Copyright: Personal

Edition notes: Score reposted July 14, 2004

General Information

Title: Non nobis, Domine
Composer: Anonymous (not William Byrd)

Number of voices: 3vv  Voicing: SSA or SAB (see editions)
Genre: Sacred, Canon
Language: Latin
Instruments: none, a cappella

Description: This famous canon at the fifth and unison or octave is now generally accepted by musicologists as not having been written by Byrd:

Though Non nobis Domine was written by a skilful composer versed in counterpoint, it cannot convincingly be attributed to William Byrd (1542/3–1623). The late, eminent Byrd specialist Philip Brett came to the view that most of the canons attributed to Byrd were spurious, including this one. The earliest source of this particular canon dates from 1620 to 1625 and is preserved in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, in the "Bull" manuscript, MS 782, f.122v, where it is anonymous, unbarred and untexted; the TUMS edition (CPDL #10739) above was made directly from the facsimile reprint in Musical Times volume 113 (1972), page 856, by transposing down a perfect fourth (for the soprano) and quartering the note values. The canon was published anonymously in three 17th century collections, yet the earliest attribution to a specific composer was made as late as 1715 by Thomas Tudway, who ascribed it to Morley; the woefully inaccurate Dr Pepusch ascribes it to Byrd in his 1731 Treatise on Harmony; and in 1739 the theme is quoted in a concerto by Carlo Ricciotti as Canone di Palestrina! The canon is known to have been admired by Mozart and Beethoven, whomever its composer was. — Philip Legge

Original text and translations

Latin text Non nobis, Domine, non nobis; sed nomini tuo da gloriam. (Many versions have "nominE" in error.)

(Ps. 115:1)

English translation Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to your name give the glory.