This sheet music is an extract from the motet “Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.” Gottfried August Homilius studied at Leipzig University and was probably Johann Sebastian Bach’s student around 1735. He made his musical career in Dresden. Homilius was considered to be one of the best composers of church music. The extract is a glimpse of the many stylistic ways of writing music: harmonic style and short counterpoint, a female equal voice measure and a male equal voice measure which creates a beautiful polyphony on “Gratias.” Melismas on “gratias” are similar to the imitative style.
