Formed in Thine Image Bright in Tonic Solfa

Formed in Thine Image Bright in Tonic Solfa to QUAM DILECTA, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 7 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is F4/4
mFormed-fin-mThine-mi--rmage-dbright,-----sWith-
lglo--mry-ron-dmy-rhead,-----rI-
mlived-swith--sin-lThy-slight,-----rAnd-
mon-fThy-mboun---rtydfed.-----

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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
Music
Henry Lascelles Jenner

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

| m - Formed| f - m - m - r - in Thine image| d - - - - - s - |bright, With
| l - m - r - d - glory on my| r - - - - - r - |head, I
| m - s - s - l - lived within Thy| s - - - - - r - |light, And
| m - f - m - - r on Thy bounty| d - - - - - |fed.

Staff notation

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

The words

Formed in Thine image bright,
With glory on my head,
I lived within Thy light,
And on Thy bounty fed.

But ah! that evil day!
The tempter's silvery tone
Lured me from God away,
To seek for bliss alone.

Dark came the night of sin,
I mourned my woeful plight,
For all was dark within,
And all around was night.

Shorn of Thy beauty fair,
Gift at my wondrous birth,
Hope fled before despair,
Gone was the joy of earth.

Yea, though the prayer be vain,
Now will I lift mine eyes,
Call me, God, back again,
Back to Thy paradise.

Came there a voice to me,
Yea, 'twas Thy voice, my God,
Bidding me come to Thee,
Up to Thy pure abode.

Trusting Thy mercy great,
Up from my woes I'll rise,
Seeking the golden gate
Opening to paradise.

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 “Formed”, 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).

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.

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, Come, Mortals, Come Behold, Even as Thou Said'st, O Christ, 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 Formed in Thine Image Bright

What is the doh of Formed in Thine Image Bright?

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 Formed in Thine Image Bright start on?

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

Is Formed in Thine Image Bright 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.

More by John Brownlie

Everything by John Brownlie (176 hymns)

More by Henry Lascelles Jenner

Everything by Henry Lascelles Jenner (10 hymns and 1 hymn tune)