To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ in Tonic Solfa
To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- A minor
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- r, (D)
- Range
- r, to m (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- CHRIST, UNSER HERR
- Words
- Martin Luther, Richard Massie
- Music
- Johann Walther
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune CHRIST, UNSER HERR by Johann Walther (1496–1570); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| r,To---f,Jor--s,dan- | l,came-s,our-dLord-t,the- |
| l,Christ,-----l,To- | ddo-t,God's-l,plea--s,sure- |
| f,will--m,_-r,ing,--- | r,And---f,there-s,was- |
| l,by-s,Saint-dJohn-t,bap-- | l,tized,-----l,All- |
| dright--t,eous--l,ness-s,ful-- | f,fill--m,_-r,ing;--- |
| __r,There-s,did-s,He- | m,con--l,se--l,crate-s,a- |
| l,bath-----l,To- | rwash-ra--mway--dtrans- |
| rgres-d_t,_-l,sion,--- | __l,And-dquench-t,the- |
| l,bit--s,ter--l,ness-f,of- | m,death-----r,By- |
| f,His-s,own-l,blood--f,and | s,pas-f,_m,_-r,sion;--- |
| __rHe-rwould-ra- | mnew-rlife-dgive-t,_- |
| l,us.------- |
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 A minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
To Jordan came our Lord the Christ,
To do God's pleasure willing,
And there was by Saint John baptized,
All righteousness fulfilling;
There did He consecrate a bath
To wash away transgression,
And quench the bitterness of death
By His own blood and passion;
He would a new life give us.
So hear ye all, and well perceive
What God doth call baptism,
And what a Christian should believe
Who error shuns and schism:
That we should water use, the Lord
Declareth it His pleasure;
Not simple water, but the Word
And Spirit without measure;
He is the true Baptizer.
To show us this, He hath His Word
With signs and symbols given;
On Jordan's banks was plainly heard
The Father's voice from Heaven:
"This is My well—beloved Son,
In whom My soul delighteth;
Hear Him." Yea, hear Him every one
Whom He Himself inviteth,
Hear and obey His teaching.
In tender manhood Jesus straight
To holy Jordan wendeth;
The Holy Ghost from Heaven's gate
In dovelike shape descendeth;
That thus the truth be not denied,
Nor should our faith e'er waver,
That the Three Persons all preside,
At baptism's holy laver,
And dwell with the believer.
Thus Jesus His disciples sent:
Go teach ye every nation,
That lost in sin they must repent;
And flee from condemnation:
He that believes and is baptized,
Obtains a mighty blessing;
A newborn man, no more he dies,
Eternal life possessing,
A joyful heir of Heaven.
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. 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 Martin Luther, first published in 1541. The English translation is by Richard Massie (1854). The tune, CHRIST, UNSER HERR, is by Johann Walther (1524). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1541): Martin Luther (1483–1546)
- Translated (1854): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
- Music (1524): Johann Walther (1496–1570)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune CHRIST, UNSER HERR by Johann Walther (1496–1570); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by 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 To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ
What is the doh of To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ?
In this version, in A minor, 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 To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ start on?
It starts on r, (D in A minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to r,.
Is To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ in the public domain?
Yes. Martin Luther died in 1546, Richard Massie died in 1887, Johann Walther died in 1570; the words were first published in 1854 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.