Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me? in Tonic Solfa
Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me? in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (F)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- EBELING
- Words
- Paul Gerhardt, John Kelly
- Music
- Johann Georg Ebeling
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EBELING by Johann Georg Ebeling (1637–1676); words by Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676); translated by John Kelly (1833–1890). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dWhy---rshould--- | mcross-----rand- |
| mtri--sal-lgrieve--- | sme?------- |
| sChrist-lis-fnear--- | fWith-sHis-mcheer;--- |
| mNe--sver-fwill-mHe- | rleave---dme.--- |
| sWho---fcan--- | mrob-----rme- |
| dof-t,the-l,hea---- | s,ven------- |
| sThat-lGod's-fSon,--- | fFor-smy-mown,--- |
| mTo-rmy-ffaith-mhath- | rgi----dven?--- |
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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Why should cross and trial grieve me?
Christ is near
With His cheer;
Never will He leave me.
Who can rob me of the heaven
That God's Son,
For my own,
To my faith hath given?
Nought not e'en the life I'm living,
Is mine own,
God alone
All to me is giving.
Must I then His own restore Him?
Though bereft
Of my flesh
Still shall I adore Him.
Though a heavy cross I'm bearing,
And my heart
Feels the smart,
Shall I be despairing?
God can help me, who doth send it,
He doth know
All my woe
And how best to end it.
God oft gives me days of gladness,
Shall I grieve
If He give
Seasons too of sadness?
God is good, and tempers ever
All my ill,
And He will
Wholly leave me never.
Though united world and devil,
All their pow'r
Can no more
Do but mock and quibble.
Let them now employ their jeering,
Christ will here
Then appear
Strike their hearts with fearing.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 d (F).
- 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 Paul Gerhardt, first published in 1653. The English translation is by John Kelly (1867). The tune, EBELING, is by Johann Georg Ebeling (1666). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1653): Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676)
- Translated (1867): John Kelly (1833–1890)
- Music (1666): Johann Georg Ebeling (1637–1676)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EBELING by Johann Georg Ebeling (1637–1676); words by Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676); translated by John Kelly (1833–1890). 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 Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me?
What is the doh of Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me??
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me? start on?
It starts on d (F in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me? in the public domain?
Yes. Paul Gerhardt died in 1676, John Kelly died in 1890, Johann Georg Ebeling died in 1676; the words were first published in 1867 and the music in 1666. 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.