Because it has been passed down in several sources, the authorship of the chanson Malheur me bat is disputed. The main contenders for attribution are Johannes Ockeghem and Johannes Martini. Josquin's mass based on the piece retains its original modal (Phrygian) flavor, which lends the mass a strong sense of sadness and resignation. The mass, which calls for six voices in the latter part of the Agnus Dei, is one of those neglected compositions that would be considered a small treasure if found among the works of a lesser composer.

The Kyrie is beautifully proportioned and has some of the most lyrically appealing passages in the mass, using the contrast of duets and six voice textures to grand effect. A simple rising motif on "eleison," later on "Christe" is slowly developed into longer and longer phrases, and the material generated is eventually used as the basis of Josquin's inspired network of imitation.

In the Gloria the cantus firmus is used only in fragments. The sad expressiveness of the piece here reaches its zenith, in dense and concise imitation based on phrases with increasingly shorter melismas. The shortening seems to be a kind of paraphrase of the verse lengths of the text.

The Agnus Dei is probably the most extraordinary movement, with three distinct sections, each a new Agnus Dei, developing towards a climactic finish. It sums up the all the emotional and compositional concerns of the mass with great concision. The first section, at times obsessively imitative, is infused with the lyrical passion of the chanson and has a tremendous build-up towards the middle, followed by a gradual diffusion. In the second section, emotionally low-key and made up entirely of a low duet, the obsessive repetitiveness reaches a summit as the concept of the canon is pushed to its limit. In the third section, building on the previous one, a massive canonic combinatorality is carried out as the voices approach each other via diminution of rests until at the words "dona nobis pacem" they culminate in a grand sonority. Josquin's music is a continual triumph of the creative imagination. Through even his most melancholic works radiates the light of his genius and immense warmth of his humanity.

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