Bethlehem Rejoices in Tonic Solfa
Bethlehem Rejoices in Tonic Solfa to BEMERTON, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mBeth--mle--rhem-rre-- | djoi----t,ces,--- |
| dHark-dthe-rvoi--rces- | mclear,------- |
| sSing--sing-fin-fthe- | mstar----rlight--- |
| mNear--mer-rand-rmore- | dnear.------- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- t, to s (E to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- BEMERTON
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Freidrich Filitz
Tune BEMERTON by Freidrich Filitz (died undefined); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). Sources and licences.
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Bethlehem rejoices,
Hark the voices clear,
Singing in the starlight
Nearer and more near.
Heaven can not contain Him,
Nor the bounds of earth,
Yet, O Glorious Mystery!
Virgin gives Him birth.
Now the light ariseth
In the darkened skies,
Now the proud are humbled
And the lowly rise.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on m (A).
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s t. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns of the Greek Church (Edinburgh and London, 1900), where he gives them as “By St. John of Damascus, 780 A.D”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sixes and Fives (6.5.6.5), and this page sets them to BEMERTON; any other Sixes and Fives tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1900): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1847): Freidrich Filitz (died undefined)
Tune BEMERTON by Freidrich Filitz (died undefined); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: Yea, I Will Extol Thee.
Questions about Bethlehem Rejoices
What is the doh of Bethlehem Rejoices?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Bethlehem Rejoices start on?
It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Bethlehem Rejoices in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Freidrich Filitz died in undefined; the words were in print by 1900 and the music in 1847. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.