Although Agricola applied most of his compositional energy to secular works, chansons in particular, and these in formes fixes such as canzone, bergerette, and rondeau, he was either uneasy with their restraints, or they provided a powerful catalyst to his naturally expansive, fantastical imagination. We say this because he frequently built elaborate polyphonic constructions on those humble foundations. In Fortuna desperata Agricola has taken an original three-part chanson, and added three more voices, making what was once a fairly simple vocal harmony into a six-part tour de force.

The second section of this three part piece is for three parts only; it is the original music unadorned. This section reveals a two-part design itself, with the first part set in a low-intensity, slow polyphony, and the second mainly in an adorned homorhythm; the changeover is smooth, emerging very naturally from the expressive/melodic directions of the lines. It is deeply meditative in character rather than breezy and sad as one might expect.

In the identical first and third parts, in which Agricola added his three extra voices, you can hear the original harmonization underneath while the new lines decorate the surface with their colorful threads. So as not to create a jarring discontinuity of style, the added parts are not nearly as florid as Agricola's writing tends to be, and are all easily audible elaborations of the original parts. Despite remaining uncommonly quiet, the new lines add a dimension of intensity and beauty to the sound unimaginable from hearing the work in its plainer form.

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