As the Sun's Enlivening Eye in Tonic Solfa
As the Sun's Enlivening Eye in Tonic Solfa to PLEYEL'S HYMN, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mAs-sthe-rsun's--men- | fliven--ring-meye--- |
| mShines-son-rev---mery | fplace-rthe-dsame;--- |
| rSo-mthe-dLord--ris | t,al--l,ways-s,nigh--- |
| mTo-sthe-rsouls--mthat | flove-rHis-dname.--- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (B)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- PLEYEL'S HYMN
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Ignaz Joseph Pleyel
Tune PLEYEL'S HYMN by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined); words by John Newton (1725–1807). 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
As the sun's enlivening eye
Shines on every place the same;
So the Lord is always nigh
To the souls that love His name.
When they move at duty's call,
He is with them by the way;
He is ever with them all,
Those who go and those who stay.
From His holy mercy-seat
Nothing can their souls confine;
Still in spirit they may meet,
And in sweet communion join.
Father, hear our humble prayer!
Tender Shepherd of Thy sheep,
Let Thy mercy and Thy care
All our souls in safety keep.
In Thy strength may we be strong;
Sanctify each cross and pain;
Give us, if Thou wilt, ere long
Here to meet in peace again.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (B).
- 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
John Newton wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 69, “God Ever Near”. The compilers changed some of the words, and this is their version.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens (7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to PLEYEL'S HYMN; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Arranged (1790): Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined)
Tune PLEYEL'S HYMN by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways, Choice of God, Thou Blessed Day, Christ, from Whom All Blessings Flow, Come, Said Jesus' Sacred Voice, For a Season Called to Part, Heralds of Creation! Cry, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, I Will Praise Thee Every Day, Interval of Grateful Shade, Lift Aloud the Voice of Praise, Morning Breaks upon the Tomb, Oft in Sorrow, Oft in Woe, Prayer an Answer Will Obtain, Sleep Not, Soldier of the Cross, Softly Now the Light of Day, Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows, Swell the Anthem, Raise the Song, Thus Said Jesus: — "Go and Do, When, My Saviour, Shall I Be.
Questions about As the Sun's Enlivening Eye
What is the doh of As the Sun's Enlivening Eye?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 As the Sun's Enlivening Eye start on?
It starts on m (B in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is As the Sun's Enlivening Eye in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel died in undefined; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1790. 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.