Orlando di Lasso (or Orlandus Lassus, 1532-1594) was one of the most famous and popular composers of Renaissance Europe. Born in the Habsburg Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), he studied music in Italy and was employed by the wealthy Gonzaga family. In 1556, he became a court musician at the court of Albrecht V in Munich, where he eventually became music director in 1563. An ambitious collector of art, jewels, and books, Albrecht sought to emulate the cultural displays and achievements of major Italian courts. As music director, Lasso created and led a first-class court orchestra and remained in the service of the Wittelsbach dynasty in Munich for the rest of his life. As Catholic reforms took hold in Bavaria, Lasso increasingly focused on sacred compositions rather than secular court music. This is a Latin motet for eight voices using the words of lines 11 and 14 from Psalm 89: “The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.”