St  Francis'  eulogy is a hymn to life and nature that is still relevant today.

Laudato si', mi' Signore,

per sora nostra matre terra , la quale ne sustenta et governa, et produce diversi fructi con coloriti flori et herba.

St. Francis' eulogy praises the earth as both "sister" and "mother". The earth is "sister" because, like man, it is a "creature", and it is "mother" because it nourishes us ("produces various fruits"), also recreates our spirit through its beauty ("colourful flowers and grasses"). Simple, profound words from a lover that touch the heart and stimulate the imagination. And it is not only "Sister Mother Earth" that inspires Francis, but the whole of nature that, in its harmonious interplay, provides for the well-being of man and all the inhabitants of the planet: "messor lo frate sole" that enlightens and warms us, the wind, the clouds, the seasons that enable the earth to bring forth its fruits, the "useful", "humble", "chaste" water. It seems to be an invitation to people to value the gifts and to commit themselves to respecting and preserving them. A highly topical message for our careless and disrespectful world!

There are two versions of this composition: one for tenor, choir and instrumental ensemble (piano, flute, theorbo, lute, baroque guitar, classical guitar, double bass and percussion) and one for tenor, choir and symphony orchestra; performance is also possible with a reduced instrumental ensemble, flute, guitar and piano.
The composition is built up from musical elements and motifs of the Middle Ages and the European Renaissance and also secular music. It also draws on the sources of Franciscan and monastic choral music, as Francis' followers certainly used music as well as preaching. This work is in the tradition of some French and Italian composers as well as Stravinsky and others who rework ancient music in a modern idiom. Remarkable is the version with an instrumental ensemble combining ancient musical instruments (theorbo, lute, baroque guitar) with the piano, flute and modern percussion.