Sol Weber's Rounds Galore (the best rounds book I know) says it's German, but that's all. In(1985), Esther Nelson says it was composed by Palestrina in the 16th century. Don't know if I believe that, but maybe it's a start. My guess is the author is "anonymous" - but it does sound German to me.
-Joe Offer-
This Google Search (click) will take you to a number of sites that will convince you that the author is NOT Palestrina. The explanation on this site from the The DeKalb (Georgia) Choral Guild was particularly good:Dona Nobis Pacem
The melody of Dona Nobis Pacem, as performed for this concert, is sung as a "round," the common name for a circle canon, or a canon in which each singer returns from the end of a melody to its beginning, then repeats it ad libitum. The melody of a round consists of sections of equal length which are designed to make good harmony when sung together. This particular round is often attributed to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who chose to be known by the name of his native town. Though rounds were popular in Palestrina's day -- the English round "Three Blind Mice" first appeared in print c. 1600 - it is unlikely that he wrote Dona Nobis Pacem. On the word "nobis,"when first sung, is heard the melodic leap of a 7th, the distance of seven steps between two notes. Such an interval, expressive though it might be, was considered dissonant or "disagreeable" in Palestrina's time and would have been avoided by so conservative a composer. The connection still holds, however. May you be pleased with our singing!
Dona nobis pacem (Grant Us Peace) is the last phrase from the Agnus Dei litany
that is sung before Communion in the Ordinary of the Mass:
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi
Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi
Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona nobis pacem.Lamb of God,
who take(s) away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God,
who take(s) away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God,
who take(s) away the sins of the world
Grant us peace.Note that in the Mass for the Dead, the ending is Dona eis requiem and Dona eis requiem sempiternam (Grant them rest / Grant them eternal rest).
This page (click) has the notation and a MIDI for Dona Nobis Pacem - and a number of other rounds.