Reflecting the troubled mood of his time, Haydn integrated references to battle in the Benedictus and Agnus Dei movements.

This piece has been long thought to express an anti-war sentiment, even though there is no explicit message in the text itself, and no clear indication from Haydn that this was his intention.

The lyrical, and deeply felt cello and baritone part in the middle section, beginning "Qui tollis peccata mundi", is especially beautiful.

[7] A truncated fugue begins at the last line, but it is interrupted midway by an elaborate coda using the solo quartet, with the chorus joining in antiphonally.

The Sanctus opens slowly, but builds to a rather ominous forte on the text "Pleni sunt coeli" before moving to a brief, more genteel "Hosanna in Excelsis".

This is set mostly in short nervous phrases for the solo quartet, with the three lower voices singing detached notes below the soprano melody reminiscent of pizzicato strings.

The sense of anxiety and foreboding continues with ominous drumbeats and wind fanfares in the Agnus Dei, which opens with minor-key timpani strokes (hence the German nickname, Paukenmesse), perhaps fate itself, knocking seemingly from the depths.