This work, whose title translates as Peace on Earth, is a German-language setting for mixed chorus of poetry by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. The first verse deals with the Nativity of Jesus of Nazareth and the attendant message of spreading peace on earth. The second verse despairs of the bloodshed that has taken place since that time, and verses 3 and 4 express hope that the killing will cease and a peaceful way of life will take over.

The harmonic idiom is that of extended tonality. The vocal lines move quite independently, but always in harmony with each other. Vocal entrances are frequently imitative. The first verse (Nativity) is relaxed and peaceful in its easygoing and independent strands. In the second verse (bloodshed) the musical lines express outrage through pungent rhythms and sadness through wide melodic leaps. The end of this verse is now sad, now hopeful. The third and fourth verses turns the rhythmically emphatic style of the second to an expression of hopefulness, with some more sustained lines introducing a feeling of comfort.

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