Come, Mortals, Come Behold in Tonic Solfa
Come, Mortals, Come Behold in Tonic Solfa to QUAM DILECTA, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mCome,- | fmor--mtals,-mcome-rbe-- | dhold!-----sHe- |
| lhangs-mup--ron-dthe- | rtree,-----rWho- |
| mmade-sthe-sroll--ling- | ssea-----rThe- |
| mnew-fformed-mearth--rup- | dhold.----- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- d to l (F to D, a sixth)
- Tune
- QUAM DILECTA
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
Tune QUAM DILECTA by Henry Lascelles Jenner (1820–1898); 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
Come, mortals, come behold!
He hangs upon the tree,
Who made the rolling sea
The new formed earth uphold.
See! He is crowned with thorns,
The King of angels great,
Who in His high estate
A glorious crown adorns.
Derided, see Him wear
A robe of purple dye,
Who robes the noon-day sky
With clouds that float on air.
The Bridegroom of the Bride,
The Son of Virgin born —
With nails His hands are torn,
With cruel spear His side.
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), on the word “Come”, 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. 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 Greek Office Books (Paisley, 1904), headed “Antiphon”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sixes (6.6.6.6), and this page sets them to QUAM DILECTA; any other Sixes tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1904): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1861): Henry Lascelles Jenner (1820–1898)
Tune QUAM DILECTA by Henry Lascelles Jenner (1820–1898); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: Because I Was Brought Low, Bring to the Christ Your Fears, Even as Thou Said'st, O Christ, Formed in Thine Image Bright, Gone Are the Shades of Night, Hark! Through the Waking Earth, Let All the World Abroad, The God Who Reigns Alone, The Saffron Tints Appear.
Questions about Come, Mortals, Come Behold
What is the doh of Come, Mortals, Come Behold?
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 Come, Mortals, Come Behold start on?
It starts on m (A in F major), a pickup on the word “Come” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Come, Mortals, Come Behold in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Henry Lascelles Jenner died in 1898; the words were in print by 1904 and the music in 1861. 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.