This funeral motet ‘Peccavi’ has a part of the text from the Book Job 7:20 from the Lectio I Office of the Dead and the Matins Responsory ‘Heu mihi’ too from the Office of the Dead. The source of the final sentence is unknown. It could be a 16th contemporary addition by Hieronymus Praetorius, only available in Reformation Catholic sources. The words ‘Peccavi [nimis in vita mea:] Quid faciam miser? Ubi fugiam, nisi ad te Deus meus’ are part of the Responsory ‘Heu mihi’ (Liber Usualis edition 1936, page 1791-1792) from the Office of the Dead, sung after the Lectio V. This motet is executed by H. Praetorius in case of funeral ceremonies in Hamburg/Germany at St. Jacobi. The official Roman Catholic Office of the Dead was no longer celebrated in the Protestant Hamburg. Praetorius sets this motet for six voices (SAATTB), Cantus (high clef) , Sextus (C2), Altus (C2), Quintus (C3), Tenor (C3), Bassus (F3). This motets is set in imitative polyphonic texture in using word-painting and even referring to the funeral motet ‘Heu mihi’ by Orlando di Lassus (1532-1594). This motet opens with a semitone in brevis on E by Altus e’-f’-e’ which will be imitated on A (by Tenor, Sextus) and D (by Bassus, Quintus). The Cantus opens on E, but an octave higher e”-f”-e”. Praetorius uses a lots of flats and sharps in this motet. Altus starts followed by Tenor, Bassus, Sextus, Quintus and Cantus. It’s interesting to see how Preatorius musically treated the phrases ‘ubi fugiam’ followed by ‘nisi ad te, Deus meus’ in Ms. 21-31. In ‘ubi fugiam’ Ms. 21-27 we see in all parts flurries of quavers to underline the words ‘Where will I fly?’ in word-painting , immediately followed by a stilled/introvert homophonic ‘nisi ad te Deus meus/except to you my God.’ If we see the scoring of the same words by Lassus in his setting of the Responsory of Matins ‘Heu mihi’ (Ms. 38-44 in Lassus’s score) we saw similar rhythmic elements Praetorius used. We suppose Praetorius has either known the text and this Responsory ‘Heu mihi’ by Lassus, or at least Praetorius had the same thoughts implementing the used text. As from ‘Ignosce culpam petenti’ (Ms. 35) Praetorius opens again imitative with the same semitone by Cantus on E, e”-f”-e”, which will be imitated on E by Altus (Ms. 36), Quintus (Ms. 39) and on A and E by Bassus, (Ms. 38 resp. Ms. 44). The short E-version will be repeated by Altus (Ms. 45) and Quintus (Ms. 47). At the end Praetorius uses again twice word-painting at the word ‘quarenti’ [asks] in using a lot of quavers in the two upper-parts and Bassus (Ms.53-54) and in the three upper-parts (Ms.57-58). This motet is set and ends in A-Phrygian.
This motet is found in Cantiones sacrae de praecipuis festis totius anni, 5,6,7, et 8 vocum, Authore Hieronimo Praetorio, Organista in xde St. Jacobi Hamburgensi, excudebat Philippus de Ohr, MDIC.