This Nisi Dominus is a somewhat special case, as several clues in the sources would suggest that this motet should be performed with a choir of 3 male voices (haute-contre, taille, basse) rather than with soloists, and a three-part orchestra doubling each part.

In the separate parts, as was often the case at the time, the indication "seul" ("alone") does not necessarily mean "alone in relation to the choir", but may remind the singer that he or she is the only one singing, and that the line must therefore be "en dehors" ("brought out"); consequently, the "tous" ("all"), far from indicating the entrance of the choir, invites the singer to slip back into the group.

The case of the Nisi Dominus, however, seems significantly different, both for instruments and voices. Indeed, at least two cases in these annotations clearly raise the question of the presence of choir and orchestra, by contrasting solo violins with tutti; for the voices, this is even more obvious for three soloists singing as a trio and then tutti.