Intended as a plea to avert war at a time when tensions in Europe were rising sharply, Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) takes it texts from four different sources, the mass, the Bible, poet Walt Whitman, and the British pacifist Quaker John Bright. The cantata is divided into six sections and lasts about 40 minutes. Its music is fairly eclectic in style, like much of Vaughan Williams' output, and was perhaps designed as an English counterpart to Verdi's Requiem, as suggested by the composer in his essay "A Musical Autobiography."

The first section, "Agnus Dei," marked Lento, is based on texts from the mass, and opens with the soprano soloist making a desperate plea for peace. Tension accrues thereafter in this short movement and is vented in the percussion-laden opening of the following section, "Beat, beat, drums!" Marked Allegro moderato, the music here is quite muscular and sometimes violent, featuring colorful writing for the brass, with many fanfare-like passages. This and the next two sections use texts by Whitman.

The second movement finally subsides for the gentle arrival of the next section, "Reconciliation." Here, Vaughan Williams offers a tender lullaby (Allegro moderato) for those lost in war. The latter part, however, conveys a more desolate, darker take on its sense of grief. The melancholy mood is mostly retained in the next section, "Dirge for Two Veterans," which was originally written in 1914. Partially because of the eclecticism of the work's style, the dirge's insertion in Dona Nobis Pacem is relatively seamless. Here, Vaughan Williams presents a symphonic march movement of stately melancholy.

The next section, on texts from John Bright and the Bible, opens darkly with the baritone soloist singing parts of Bright's well-known 1855 speech, "The Angel of Death," after which this movement is titled. The music then erupts fiercely when the chorus enters, and the mood remains unsettling throughout the remainder of this movement. The composer, however, offers plentiful hope in the final section, "O Man Greatly Beloved," on texts from seven books of the Bible. It opens in a pastoral mood and features some imaginative contrapuntal writing. Soon the mood turns glorious and brims with a sense of hope, perhaps even of triumph over conflict. The music then takes on a serene manner when the soprano soloist sings her hopeful prayer of peace.

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