Cristóbal de Morales was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Tomás Luis de Victoria.
He composed 18 settings of the Magnificat, 22 settings of the Mass, 5 settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and over 100 motets, of which this is one:
Emendemus in melius quae ignoranter peccavimus;
Let us amend for the better in those things in which we have sinned through ignorance;
ne subito praeoccupati die mortis,
lest suddenly overtaken by the day of death,
quaeramus spatium poenitentiae, et invenire non possimus.
we seek space for repentance, and be not able to find it.
Attende, Domine, et miserere; quia peccavimus tibi.
Hearken, O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against thee.
