Lord as to Thy Dear Cross in Tonic Solfa
Lord as to Thy Dear Cross in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (B♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- ST. BERNARD (RICHARDSON)
- Words
- John Hampden Gurney
- Music
- Traditional German
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. BERNARD (RICHARDSON) (traditional German); words by John Hampden Gurney (1802–1862). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sLord,- | das-rto-mThy-rdeard_ | fcross-mwe-rflee,-sAnd- |
| mplead-lto-febe--fefor- | sgiv'n,-----sSo- |
| d'let-lThy-slife-lour- | fpat--ftern-mbe,-dAnd- |
| fform-mour-rsouls-rfor- | dheav'n.----- |
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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Lord, as to Thy dear cross we flee,
And plead to be forgiv'n,
So let Thy life our pattern be,
And form our souls for heav'n.
Help us, through good report and ill,
Our daily cross to bear:
Like Thee, to do our Father's will,
Our brethren's grief to share.
Let grace our selfishness expel,
Our earthliness refine;
And kindness in our bosoms dwell,
As free and true as Thine.
If joy shall at Thy bidding fly,
And grief's dark day come on,
We in our turn would meekly cry,
"Father, Thy will be done."
Kept peaceful in the midst of strife,
Forgiving and forgiv'n,
O may we lead the pilgrim's life
And follow Thee to heav'n.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (B♭), on the word “Lord”, 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 and the chromatic fe. 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 John Hampden Gurney, first published in 1838. The tune, ST. BERNARD (RICHARDSON), is Traditional German. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1838): John Hampden Gurney (1802–1862)
- Melody (1741): Traditional German
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. BERNARD (RICHARDSON) (traditional German); words by John Hampden Gurney (1802–1862). 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 Lord as to Thy Dear Cross
What is the doh of Lord as to Thy Dear Cross?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Lord as to Thy Dear Cross start on?
It starts on s (B♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Lord” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Lord as to Thy Dear Cross in the public domain?
Yes. John Hampden Gurney died in 1862; the words were first published in 1838 and the music in 1741. 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.