Fortuna desperata is a secular Italian song, possibly originally by Busnois, (but others credit Antoine Brumel

Antoine Brumel

Antoine Brumel was a French composer. He was one of the first renowned French members of the Franco-Flemish school of the Renaissance, and, after Josquin des Prez, was one of the most influential composers of his generation....

). It was used by many other authors in the following 75 years, for both variations and cantus firmus

Cantus firmus

In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...

 masses, and over 30 such reworkings are known.
Words in the original Italian and in English and German are available at Choral Wiki http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Fortuna_desperata_(Alexander_Agricola).

The first verse is

'Fortuna desperata

Iniqua e maledecta, maledecta

Che de tal dona electa

La fama hai denigrata.'

translated as

'Desperate fate,

iniquitous and maledicted

who blackened the good name

of a woman beyond compare.'

Amongst the more well-known versions of the song are the 3-voice version by Busnois, its reworking for 6 voices by Alexander Agricola

Alexander Agricola

Alexander Agricola was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A prominent member of the Grande chapelle, the Habsburg musical establishment, he was a renowned composer in the years around 1500, and his music was widely distributed throughout Europe...

, a 3-part instrumental version possibly by Josquin, and a 3-voice version by Heinrich Isaac

Heinrich Isaac

Heinrich Isaac was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs , and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany...

. See http://www.areditions.com/rr/rrm/m037.html for several others.

Amongst the mass-settings are those by Josquin and Obrecht

Obrecht

Obrecht is the name of:* Jacob Obrecht , Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance* Hermann Obrecht , Swiss politician...

.