Gentle Mary Laid Her Child in Tonic Solfa
Gentle Mary Laid Her Child in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- A major
- Doh
- A
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (A)
- Range
- s, to s (E to E, an octave)
- Tune
- TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM
- Words
- Joseph Simpson Cook
- Music
- From Swedish Piae Cantones, 1582
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM (From Swedish Piae Cantones, 1582); words by Joseph Simpson Cook (1859–1933). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dGen--dtle-dMa--rry- | dlaid-dher-s,Child--- |
| l,low--s,ly-l,in-t,a- | dman----dger;--- |
| dThere-dHe-dlay,-rthe- | dun--dde--s,filed,--- |
| l,to-s,the-l,world-t,a- | dStran----dger:--- |
| sSuch-fa-mBabe-rin- | msuch-ra-dplace,--- |
| l,can-s,He-l,be-t,the- | dSa----dvior?--- |
| s,Ask-s,the-l,saved-t,of- | dall-dthe-rrace--- |
| swho-fhave-mfound-rHis- | dfa----f_--- |
| dvor.------- |
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 A · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in A major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Gentle Mary laid her Child
lowly in a manger;
There He lay, the undefiled,
to the world a Stranger:
Such a Babe in such a place,
can He be the Savior?
Ask the saved of all the race
who have found His favor.
Angels sang about His birth;
wise men sought and found Him;
Heaven's star shone brightly forth,
glory all around Him:
Shepherds saw the wondrous sight,
heard the angels singing;
All the plains were lit that night,
all the hills were ringing.
Gentle Mary laid her Child
lowly in a manger;
He is still the undefiled,
but no more a stranger:
Son of God, of humble birth,
beautiful the story;
Praise His Name in all the earth,
hail the King of glory!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum A 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 d (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
The words are by Joseph Simpson Cook, first published in 1919. The tune, TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM, is from Swedish Piae Cantones, 1582. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1919): Joseph Simpson Cook (1859–1933)
- Melody (1300): From Swedish Piae Cantones, 1582
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM (From Swedish Piae Cantones, 1582); words by Joseph Simpson Cook (1859–1933). 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 Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
What is the doh of Gentle Mary Laid Her Child?
In this version, in A major, doh is A. 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 Gentle Mary Laid Her Child start on?
It starts on d (A in A major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Gentle Mary Laid Her Child in the public domain?
Yes. Joseph Simpson Cook died in 1933; the words were first published in 1919 and the music in 1300. 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.