Formally 5 voices (Soprano, Mezzo, Countertenor, Tenor, Bass) On present-day recordings almost always interpreted by a larger choir (on this CD by 16 voices)

From the CD-booklet: Despite the dolorous nature of the text in this antiphon, we should not look for "expressive" word painting, although this does not mean that the composer will not draw attention in some way to important words of text. There seems such intention at the word 'crucifige', when at a cue from a trio the whole choir enters, no less than four of the five parts with the same rhythm at the same moment, an unusually insistent, declamatory effect. These composers have by and large a purely mechanical technique of word setting, which has nothing to do with the emotive significance which a modern reader might find in the text. Thus Davy simply works his way through each syllable of the text until the penultimate is reached, then allows the music to expand melismatically before achieving a cadence on the final syllable: the obvious examples are at incliNAti, fiLIo, complaCEam, criMIne, maestiTIam and, of course, Amen

The medieval English text is used (see Texts: Latin)