Bound upon the Accursed Tree in Tonic Solfa

Bound upon the Accursed Tree in Tonic Solfa to MESSIAH (HERALD), doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is F4/4

mBound--rup-don-dthe-

fac---mcursedrtree,---

sFaint--landlbleed--sing,-

mwho-dis-rhe?---

mBy--rthedcheek-dso-

fpale--mandrwan,---

sBy--lthescrown-mof-

rtwist---deddthorn,---

t,By--dtherside-fso-

mdeep---rlydpierced,---

rBy--mthefbaf--lfled,-

sburn---fingmthirst,---

mBy--rtheddroop--ding-

fdeath--mdewedrbrow.---

sSon--lofsman!-m'tis-

rthou!--d'tisdthou!---

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Key: F major
Doh: F
Time: 4/4
Starts on: m (A)
Range: t, to l (E to D, a seventh)
Tune: MESSIAH (HERALD)
Words: Henry Hart Milman
Music: Louis J. F. Herold, George Kingsley

Tune MESSIAH (HERALD) by Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined) and George Kingsley (died undefined); words by Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868). 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

| m - - r d - d - Bound upon the| f - - m r - - - |accursed tree,

| s - - l l - s - Faint and bleeding,| m - d - r - - - |who is he?

| m - - r d - d - By the cheek so| f - - m r - - - |pale and wan,

| s - - l s - m - By the crown of| r - - d d - - - |twisted thorn,

| t, - - d r - f - By the side so| m - - r d - - - |deeply pierced,

| r - - m f - l - By the baffled,| s - - f m - - - |burning thirst,

| m - - r d - d - By the drooping| f - - m r - - - |death dewed brow.

| s - - l s - m - Son of man! 'tis| r - - d d - - - |thou! 'tis thou!

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

Bound upon the accursed tree,
Faint and bleeding, who is he?
By the cheek so pale and wan,
By the crown of twisted thorn,
By the side so deeply pierced,
By the baffled, burning thirst,
By the drooping death-dewed brow.
Son of man! 'tis thou! 'tis thou!

Bound upon the accursed tree,
Sad and dying, who is he?
By the last and bitter cry,
Life breathed out in agony:
By the lifeless body laid
In the chamber of the dead:
Crucified! we know thee now;
Son of man! 'tis thou! 'tis thou!

Bound upon the accursed tree,
Dread and awful, who is he?
By the prayer for them that slew,
"Lord! they know not what they do;"
By the sealed and guarded cave,
By the spoiled and empty grave,
By that clear, immortal brow,
Son of God! 'tis thou! 'tis thou!

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 l 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

Henry Hart Milman wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 248 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"They shall look on Him whom they pierced."”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MESSIAH (HERALD); any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868)
Music (1839): Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined)
Arranged (1839): George Kingsley (died undefined)

Tune MESSIAH (HERALD) by Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined) and George Kingsley (died undefined); words by Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868).

Sung to the same tune: 'Tis My Happiness Below, Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise, Come, and Let Us Sweetly Join, Faint the Earth, and Parched with Drought, God of Love, We Look to Thee, Grace, Triumphant in the Throne, Happy Man Whom God Doth Aid, Happy Soul Who Sees the Day, Hark! How Time's Wide Sounding Bell, Jesus, We Thy Promise Claim, Let the Beasts Their Breath Resign, Lord! Thou Didst Arise and Say, Oft in Vain the Voice of Truth, Sinner, Art Thou Still Secure.

Questions about Bound upon the Accursed Tree

What is the doh of Bound upon the Accursed Tree?

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 Bound upon the Accursed Tree start on?

It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.

Is Bound upon the Accursed Tree in the public domain?

Yes. Henry Hart Milman died in 1868, Louis J. F. Herold died in undefined, George Kingsley died in undefined; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1839. 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.