Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One in Tonic Solfa

Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 8 verses, and a piano to sing along with.

Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: r (D)
Range: r to d' (D to C, a seventh)
Tune: CHRISTUM WIR SOLLEN LOBEN SCHON
Words: Coelius Sedulius, Martin Luther, Richard Massie
Music: Traditional Latin, From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

rNow---fpraise-swe-

lChrist,-rthe-sHo--fly-

mOne,---__sThe-

lspot--d'less-d'vir--tgin-

lMa--try's-d'Son,---

__sFar-las-d'the-

d'bless--téd-lsun-sedoth-

lshine---__rE'en-

lto-lthe-d'world's-lre--

smotel_f_-mcon----

mfine-------

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 C · 4/4

| r - - - f - s - Now praise we| l - r - s - f - |Christ, the Holy

| m - - - _ _ s - One, The| l - d' - d' - t - |spotless virgin

| l - t - d' - - - Mary's Son,| _ _ s - l - d' - |Far as the

| d' - t - l - se - blesséd sun doth| l - - - _ _ r - |shine E'en

| l - l - d' - l - to the world's re-| s l f - m - - - |mote con-

| m - - - - - - - |fine

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Now praise we Christ, the Holy One,
The spotless virgin Mary's Son,
Far as the blesséd sun doth shine
E'en to the world's remote confine

He, who Himself all things did make,
A servant's form vouchsafed to take,
That He as man mankind might win,
And save His creatures from their sin.

The grace of God, th'Almighty Lord,
On the chaste mother was outpoured
a virgin pure and undefiled
In wondrous wise conceived a child.

The holy maid became th'abode
And temple of the living God;
And she, who knew not man, was blest
With God's own Word made manifest.

The noble mother bare a Son,
For so did Gabriel's promise run,
Whom John confessed and leapt with joy,
Ere yet the mother knew her boy.

In a rude manger, stretched on hay, In poverty content He lay;
With milk was fed the Lord of all, Who feeds the ravens when they call.

Th' angelic choir rejoice, and raise Their voice to God in songs of praise;
To humble shepherds is proclaimed The Shepherd who the world hath framed.

D Honor to Thee, O Christ, be paid, Pure offspring of a holy maid,
With Father and with Holy Ghost, Till time in time's abyss be lost.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 r (D).
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 se. 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 Coelius Sedulius, first published in 450. The English translation is by Martin Luther and Richard Massie (1524). The tune, CHRISTUM WIR SOLLEN LOBEN SCHON, is Traditional Latin and from Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.

Words (450): Coelius Sedulius (5th century)
Translated (1524): Martin Luther (1483–1546)
Translated (1524): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
Melody (1524): Traditional Latin
Melody (1524): From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524

Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune CHRISTUM WIR SOLLEN LOBEN SCHON (traditional Latin, From Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524); words by Coelius Sedulius (5th century); translated by Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Richard Massie (1800–1887). 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 Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One

What is the doh of Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One?

In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One start on?

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

Is Now Praise We Christ, the Holy One in the public domain?

Yes. Coelius Sedulius lived in the 5th century, Martin Luther died in 1546, Richard Massie died in 1887; the words were first published in 1524 and the music in 1524. 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.