Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation in Tonic Solfa

Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation in Tonic Solfa to LUX EOI, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

sChrist--sThed'Word!-sThine-

sIn--fcar--fna--mtion-

lLinks-lmy-sna--mture-

rto-dThine-rown;---

sBy--sThyd'sore-d'Hu--

tmil--li--r'a--stion,-

feI-mam-rlift--sed-

sto-feThy-sthrone;---

fBy-fThy-msuf--mfering-

lThou--lhastlfired-seme-

lWith-ta-d'zeal-tto-

msac--seri--lfice,---

sAnd-d'to-m'no--r'ble-

d'life-tin--lspired-sme,-

saHence-fmy-mgrate--lful-

dsongs-ra--drise.---

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (A)
Range: d to m' (D to F♯, a tenth)
Tune: LUX EOI
Words: Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
Music: Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Tune LUX EOI by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900); 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 D · 4/4

| s - - s d' - s - Christ The Word! Thine| s - f - f - m - |Incarnation

| l - l - s - m - Links my nature| r - d - r - - - |to Thine own;

| s - - s d' - d' - By Thy sore Hu-| t - l - r' - s - |miliation,

| fe - m - r - s - I am lifted| s - fe - s - - - |to Thy throne;

| f - f - m - m - By Thy suffering| l - - l l - se - |Thou hast fired me

| l - t - d' - t - With a zeal to| m - se - l - - - |sacrifice,

| s - d' - m' - r' - And to noble| d' - t - l - s - |life inspired me,

| sa - f - m - l - Hence my grateful| d - r - d - - - |songs arise.

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Christ The Word! Thine Incarnation
Links my nature to Thine own;
By Thy sore Humiliation,
I am lifted to Thy throne;
By Thy suffering Thou hast fired me
With a zeal to sacrifice,
And to noble life inspired me, —
Hence my grateful songs arise.

Word of God! Thy Crucifixion
Hath upraised me from the earth;
By Thy death and dereliction,
Thou hast given me nobler birth;
By Thy Resurrection glorious,
Life immortal now I own, —
Hence ascend my songs victorious
To Thy praise, O Christ the Son.

By Thy hand at the creation,
Thou didst form me from the ground,
And, to mark my kingly station,
With Thine image I was crowned;
And that hand, when pierced and bleeding,
Raised me from corruption's mire,
And, though all this love unheeding,
Decked me with divine attire.

Thou who gav'st my soul its being,
Breathing in me life divine,
Didst, by Thine all-wise decreeing,
Unto death Thy life resign;
And from death my soul defending,
Thou didst sojourn with the dead,
That Thou mightst, my fetters rending,
Raise me up, Thou Glorious Head!

Shame be on your heads abiding,
Disobedient people now,
Who to death, and vile deriding,
Caused the Word of God to bow!
Shame! for death, nor powers infernal,
Nor the dark of hades' gloom,
Could retain the King Eternal
In the bondage of the tomb.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 s (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 and the chromatic fe se sa. 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 from the Morningland (Paisley, 1911), headed “Modern Greek Hymns”.

The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Eights and Sevens Double (8.7.8.7.8.7.8.7), and this page sets them to LUX EOI; any other Eights and Sevens Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Traditional Greek
Translated (1911): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
Music (1874): Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900)

Tune LUX EOI by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).

Sung to the same tune: As in Solemn Congregation, Come, Thou All-inspiring Spirit, Could the Creatures Help or Ease Us, Hear What God the Lord Hath Spoken, Holy Father, Thou Hast Taught Me, In the Name Which Earth and Heaven, Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken, Legion Was My Name by Nature, Let the World Despise and Leave Me, Love Divine, All Love Excelling, Mighty One, Whose Name Is Holy, Peace Be to This Habitation, We Have Met in Peace Together, Westward, Lord, the World Alluring.

Questions about Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation

What is the doh of Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 the Word! Thine Incarnation start on?

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

Is Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation in the public domain?

Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Arthur Seymour Sullivan died in 1900; the words were in print by 1911 and the music in 1874. 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.