Angels from the Realms of Glory in Tonic Solfa

Angels from the Realms of Glory in Tonic Solfa to REGENT SQUARE, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, four verses and a piano.

Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (G)
Range: m to f' (E to F, a ninth)
Tune: REGENT SQUARE
Words: James Montgomery
Music: Henry Smart

Tune REGENT SQUARE by Henry Smart (1813–1879); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854). Sources and licences.

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

sAn--mgels-

d'from-sthe-m'realms--r'of

d'glo--sry,-lWing-lyour-

sflight-d'o’er-sall-fthe-

mearth;---sYe-mwho-

d'sang-scre--m'a---r'tion’s

d'sto--try-d'Now-tpro--

lclaim-tMes-d'_tsi--lah’s-

sbirth:---r'Come--r'and

twor--sship,-m'come--r'and

d'wor--lship,-f'Wor--m'ship-

r'Christ,-d'the-d'new--tborn-

d'King.---

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

| s - m - Angels| d' - s - m' - - r' from the realms of| d' - s - l - l - |glory, Wing your

| s - d' - s - f - flight o’er all the| m - - - s - m - |earth; Ye who

| d' - s - m' - - r' sang creation’s| d' - t - d' - t - |story Now pro-

| l - t d' t - l - claim Messiah’s| s - - - r' - - r' |birth: Come and

| t - s - m' - - r' worship, come and| d' - l - f' - m' - |worship, Worship

| r' - d' - d' - t - Christ, the newborn| d' - - - |King.

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

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Refrain

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light:

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen His natal star:

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear,
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear:

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 first syllable of “Angels”, 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

James Montgomery, a newspaper editor in Sheffield, England, first printed this carol in his paper, The Iris, on Christmas Eve 1816. Henry Smart wrote the tune REGENT SQUARE, named after a London church, and first published it in 1867.

Words (1816): James Montgomery (1771–1854)
Melody (1867): Henry Smart (1813–1879)

Tune REGENT SQUARE by Henry Smart (1813–1879); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854).

Sung to the same tune: Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing.

Questions about Angels from the Realms of Glory

What is the doh of Angels from the Realms of Glory?

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 Angels from the Realms of Glory start on?

It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Angels” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is Angels from the Realms of Glory in the public domain?

Yes. James Montgomery died in 1854, Henry Smart died in 1879; the words were first published in 1816 and the music in 1867. 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.