Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands in Tonic Solfa

Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands in Tonic Solfa: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses and a piano.

Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: l (A)
Range: r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
Tune: CHRIST LAG IN TOBES BANDEN
Words: Martin Luther, Richard Massie
Music: From Walter's Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

lChrist---

sJe--lsus-d'lay-r'in-

d'death's-tstrong-lbands,--lFor

four-sof--lfen--ssesf_

mgiv--ren;-lBut---

snow-lat-d'God's-r'right-

d'hand-tHe-lstands,--lAnd

fbrings-sus-llife-sfromf_

mHea--rven.-rWhere--ffore-

slet-rus-fjoy--sful-

lbe,--lAndr'sing-d'to-

r'God-m'right-d'thank--tful--

lly--lLoudd'songs-lof-

d'Al--sle--flu-r_m_-

ria!---lAl--sle-f_

mlu--ria!-

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 WhatsApp message to the choir.

Doh is C · 4/4

| l - - - Christ| s - l - d' - r' - Jesus lay in| d' - t - l - - l |death's strong bands, For

| f - s - l - s f our offenses| m - r - l - - - |given; But

| s - l - d' - r' - now at God's right| d' - t - l - - l |hand He stands, And

| f - s - l - s f brings us life from| m - r - r - f - |Heaven. Wherefore

| s - r - f - s - let us joyful| l - - l r' - d' - |be, And sing to

| r' - m' - d' - t - God right thankful-| l - - l d' - l - |ly Loud songs of

| d' - s - f r m - Allelu-| r - - - l - s f |ia! Alle-

| m - r - |luia!

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands,
For our offenses given;
But now at God's right hand He stands,
And brings us life from Heaven.
Wherefore let us joyful be,
And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of Alleluia!
Alleluia!

No son of man could conquer
Death, Such mischief sin had wrought us,
For innocence dwelt not on earth,
And therefore Death had brought us
Into thralldom from of old
And ever grew more strong and bold
And kept us in his bondage.
Alleluia!

But Jesus Christ,
God's only Son,
To our low state descended,
The cause of Death He has undone,
His power forever ended,
Ruined all his right and claim
And left him nothing but the name,
His sting is lost forever.
Alleluia!

It was a strange and dreadful strife
When life and death contended;
The victory remained with life;
The reign of death was ended.
Stripped of power, no more it reigns,
An empty form alone remains
Death's sting is lost forever!
Alleluia!

Here the true Paschal Lamb we see,
Whom God so freely gave us;
He died on the accursed tree
So strong His love! to save us.
See, His blood doth mark our door;
Faith points to it,
Death passes o'er,
And Satan cannot harm us.
Alleluia!

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 l (A), on the word “Christ”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
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

The words are by Martin Luther, first published in 1524. The English translation is by Richard Massie (1854). The tune, CHRIST LAG IN TOBES BANDEN, is from Walter's Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.

Words (1524): Martin Luther (1483–1546)
Translated (1854): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
Melody (1524): From Walter's Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524

Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune CHRIST LAG IN TOBES BANDEN (From Walter's Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.

Questions about Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands

What is the doh of Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands?

In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands start on?

It starts on l (A in C major), a pickup on the word “Christ” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l.

Is Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands in the public domain?

Yes. Martin Luther died in 1546, Richard Massie died in 1887; the words were first published in 1854 and the music in 1524. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.