[4] Poulenc returned to sacred music first in 1937 when he composed the missa brevis Messe en sol majeur (Mass in G).
He wrote "Timor et tremor" last, in Noizay in January 1939, and dedicated it to Monsieur l'Abbé Maillet.
"Tenebrae factae sunt" was the first of the four motets, written there in July, dedicated to Nadia Boulanger.
Poulenc composed "Tristis est anima mea" in Paris in November 1938 and dedicated it to Ernest Bourmauck.
[2] The Norwegian chamber choir Grex Vocalis, conducted by Carl Høgset, recorded the motets along with the Messe en sol majeur.