Their author, Cysat, claims to have used odds and ends of eighteen different languages in their composition. Many of the nonsense words are undoubtedly taken from children's rhymes, others from charms and magic incantations. The music is indited in the mensural notation of the period, on a fiveline staff, with clef and key signatures that were then usual. The songs fall into two groups, one of hymn-like character, the other in the nature of dance-songs. The first group shows a marked similarity to melodic phrases that were common in sacred music of the time, although it does not follow that the composer consciously borrowed from any particular hymns. The second group bears obvious resemblance to a number of folk melodies known to have been current in the I6th century but, again, intentional plagiarism cannot be established. Most of the songs are apparently intended for unison performance, although other voices can be derived from some melodies. Two of the pieces are obviously rounds, one piece (marked Trium Vocum) being in three parts, the other (marked Quattuor Vocum) being in four. The three-part song is a perfect example, maintaining triad-chords throughout, except that in two instances the middle note is a diminished third from the lowest tone. The four-part song is not as perfectly formed, but nevertheless has all the characteristics of a round. Each voice carries only the equivalent of a single measure in modern notation before the next voice begins. On the whole, the composer of the vocal music of the Lucerne Passion Play displays marked talent. All his songs are entirely melodious, some of them are actually beautiful, and their general character is surprisingly modern.