Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish in Tonic Solfa
Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish in Tonic Solfa to WERDE MUNTER, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mZi--fon-smourns-sin- | ffear-mand-ran--rguish,- |
| mZi---fon,scit--my- | rof-rour-dGod.--_ |
| m“Ah!”-fshe-ssaith,-s“how- | fsore-mI-rlan--rguish,- |
| mBowed--fbe-sneath-mso- | rhard-ra-dload!--_ |
| rGod-mhath-fnow-ffor-- | msook-mme-rquite--_ |
| fAnd--sfor-lgot-lmy- | se--svil-fplight.”--_ |
| mNay,-fthe-sLord,-swho- | fchose-mthee,-rspares-rthee,- |
| mFor-fwith--sin-mHis- | rheart-rHe-dbears-dthee.- |
Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →
Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- d to l (F to D, a sixth)
- Tune
- WERDE MUNTER
- Music
- Johann Schop
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WERDE MUNTER by Johann Schop (1590–1664); words by Johann Heermann (1585–1647); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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 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
Zion mourns in fear and anguish,
Zion, city of our God.
“Ah!” she saith, “how sore I languish,
Bowed beneath so hard a load!
God hath now forsook me quite
And forgot my evil plight.”
Nay, the Lord, who chose thee, spares thee,
For within His heart He bears thee.
“Once,” she mourns, “He promised plainly
That His help should aye be near,
Yet I now must seek Him vainly
In my days of woe and fear.
Will He, then, forevermore
Keep His anger and no more
Help His chosen generation
In its present tribulation?”
“Zion, surely I have loved thee!”
Thus to her the Highest saith.
“Although many woes have proved thee
And thy soul is sad to death,
Yet now cast thy griefs behind;
Where wilt thou a mother find
For her own child not providing
Or in hatred with it chiding?
“And if thou couldst find a mother
Who forgot her infant’s claim
Or whose wrath her love could smother,
Yet would I be still the same;
For My truth is pledged to thee,
Zion, thou art dear to Me;
I within My heart have set thee,
And I never can forget thee.
“Let not Satan make thee craven;
He can fight, but cannot harm.
On My hands thy name is graven,
And thy shield is still My arm.
How, then, could it ever be
That I failed to think of thee,
Build the wall of My own city
And look down on thee with pity?
“Thou before My eyes art ever,
In My bosom thou art laid
As a nursing child, and never
Shalt thou lack My timely aid.
Me and thee no time nor stress,
War, nor danger, nor distress,
No, nor Satan’s self shall sever,—
Only be thou faithful ever.”
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 m (A).
- 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. 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
Johann Heermann wrote these words in German. Catherine Winkworth's translation was printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 505.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked 8.7.8.7.7.7.8.8, to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to WERDE MUNTER; any other 8.7.8.7.7.7.8.8 tune fits them as well.
- Words: Johann Heermann (1585–1647)
- Translated: Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Music (1642): Johann Schop (1590–1664)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WERDE MUNTER by Johann Schop (1590–1664); words by Johann Heermann (1585–1647); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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: Like the Golden Sun Ascending.
Questions about Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish
What is the doh of Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish?
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 Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish start on?
It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Zion Mourns in Fear and Anguish in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Heermann died in 1647, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878, Johann Schop died in 1664; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1642. 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.