O Sacred Head, Now Wounded in Tonic Solfa
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 11 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (E)
- Range
- r to r' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- PASSION CHORALE
- Words
- Bernard of Clairvaux, James Waddel Alexander
- Music
- Hans Leo Hassler
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune PASSION CHORALE by Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612); words by Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153); translated by James Waddel Alexander (1804–1859). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mO- | lsac--sred-fHead,-mnow- | rwound----med,-twith- |
| d'grief-d'and-tshamel_tweighed- | ldown,-----mNow- |
| lscorn--sful--fly-msur-- | rround----med-twith- |
| d'thorns,-d'Thine-ton-l_tly- | lcrown;-----d'O- |
| tsac-l_sred-lHead,-twhat- | d'glo----d'ry,-swhat- |
| lbliss-still-fnow-fwas- | mThine!-----d'Yet,- |
| tthoughd'_r'des--d'pised-tand- | lgor----ty,-mI- |
| fjoy-mto-rcall-sThee- | mmine.----- |
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
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
O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered,
was all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor,
vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee,
Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee
and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish
that once was bright as morn!
Now from Thy cheeks has vanished
their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished
the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor,
hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor,
Thy strength in this sad strife.
My burden in Thy Passion,
Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression
which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee,
wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee;
Redeemer, spurn me not!
What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.
My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.
Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death's cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I'll clasp.
The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I'd breathe my soul to Thee.
My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!
Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.
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 m (E), on the word “O”, 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 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 Bernard of Clairvaux, first published in 1153. The English translation is by James Waddel Alexander (1830). The tune, PASSION CHORALE, is by Hans Leo Hassler (1601). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1153): Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153)
- Translated (1830): James Waddel Alexander (1804–1859)
- Music (1601): Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune PASSION CHORALE by Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612); words by Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153); translated by James Waddel Alexander (1804–1859). 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.
Sung to the same tune: A Pilgrim and a Stranger.
Questions about O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
What is the doh of O Sacred Head, Now Wounded?
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 O Sacred Head, Now Wounded start on?
It starts on m (E in C major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is O Sacred Head, Now Wounded in the public domain?
Yes. Bernard of Clairvaux died in 1153, James Waddel Alexander died in 1859, Hans Leo Hassler died in 1612; the words were first published in 1830 and the music in 1601. 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.