When on the Cruel Cross in Tonic Solfa
When on the Cruel Cross in Tonic Solfa to BOYLSTON, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sWhen- | monfthescru--lel- | sCross---d'The- | d'Lordtwasllift--led- | shigh,---sAf-- |
| mfright-fedsearth-sin- | lter-trord'quailed-tTo- | d'seelitssMak--ser- | sdie.--- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- m to d' (E to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- BOYLSTON
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BOYLSTON by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). Sources and licences.
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 message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is C · 3/4
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
When on the cruel Cross
The Lord was lifted high,
Affrighted earth in terror quailed
To see its Maker die.
Then had the yawning caves
Devoured the murderous band,
Had not the Crucified in love
Stretched forth His saving hand.
Thou gav'st Thyself to die,
Dark Hades to explore,
To bring to souls in prison bound
New life for evermore.
O Lover of mankind,
To Thee all glory be,
For Thou didst give not death, but life,
When hanging on the tree.
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 s (G), on the word “When”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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 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
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns of the Greek Church (Edinburgh and London, 1900).
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Short Metre (6.6.8.6), and this page sets them to BOYLSTON; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1900): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1832): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BOYLSTON by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune 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: 'Tis God the Spirit Leads, A Charge to Keep I Have, And Is There, Lord, a Rest, And Will the Judge Descend, Behold the Throne of Grace, Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Boylston), Come to the Land of Peace, Come, Holy Spirit, Come, Come, Ye That Love the Lord, God of Eternal Love, God of the Prophets' Power, Hail to the Sabbath Day, How Beauteous Are Their Feet, How Pleasing, Lord! to See, Hush the Loud Cannon's Roar, I Lift My Soul to God, In God's Eternity, Is This the Kind Return, Let Every Ear Attend, Not All the Blood of Beasts, Not in the Name of Pride, Not What These Hands Have Done, Now at This Evening Hour, O Come and Dwell in Me, O God, My Strength, My Hope, O Lord, Thy Perfect Word, O, Cease, My Wandering Soul, Out of the Depths of Woe, Stand, Soldier of the Cross, The Day Is Past and Gone, The Lord Declares His Will, The Savior Hides His Face, Thou Must Be Born Again, To Him Who Children Blest, To Keep the Lamp Alive, When Overwhelm'd with Grief, When Thou Shalt Come, O Lord, Where Is Thy Sting, O Death, Ye Sons of Earth, Arise.
Questions about When on the Cruel Cross
What is the doh of When on the Cruel Cross?
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 When on the Cruel Cross start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “When” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is When on the Cruel Cross in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1900 and the music in 1832. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.