Awake, My Heart, with Gladness in Tonic Solfa
Awake, My Heart, with Gladness in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (B♭)
- Range
- t, to d' (D to E♭, a ninth)
- Tune
- AUF, AUF, MEIN HERZ MIT FREUDEN
- Words
- Paul Gerhardt, John Kelly
- Music
- Johann Crüger
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune AUF, AUF, MEIN HERZ MIT FREUDEN by Johann Crüger (1598–1662); words by Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676); translated by John Kelly (1833–1890). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sA--mwake,-smy- | fheart,---mwith- | rglad------ | dness,---sSee- |
| lwhat--t_d'to-- | tday--l_tis- | ldone;----- | sHow-maf--ster- |
| fgloom---mand- | rsad------ | dness,---sComes- | lforth--t_d'the- |
| tglo---l_trious- | lSun.----- | mMy-sSa--dvior- | t,there--d_rwas- |
| dlaid----- | fWhere-lour-rbed- | demust--r_mbe- | rmade---rWhen- |
| mto--f_sthe- | ferealms--s_lof- | slight---sOur- | lspi---t_d'rit- |
| twings--l_tits- | d'flight.----- |
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 Eb · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See what today is done;
How after gloom and sadness,
Comes forth the glorious Sun.
My Savior there was laid
Where our bed must be made
When to the realms of light
Our spirit wings its flight.
They in the grave did sink Him,
The foe held jubilee;
Before he can bethink him,
Lo! Christ again is free.
And "Victory" He cries,
And waving tow'rds the skies
His banner, while the field
Is by the Hero held!
Upon the grave is standing
The Hero looking round;
The foe, no more withstanding,
His weapons on the ground
Throws down, his hellish pow'r
To Christ must he give o'er,
And to the Victor's bands
Must yield his feet and hands.
A sight it is to gladden;
And fill the heart with glee,
No more affright or sadden
Shall aught, or take from me
My trust or fortitude,
Or any precious good
The Savior bought for me
In sov'reign love and free.
Hell and its prince, the devil,
Of all their pow'rs are shorn;
Now I am safe from evil,
And sin I laugh to scorn.
Grim Death with all his might
Cannot my soul affright;
He is a pow'rless form,
Howe'er he rage and storm.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (B♭).
- 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 r m f s l t and the chromatic de fe. 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 1648. The English translation is by John Kelly (1867). The tune, AUF, AUF, MEIN HERZ MIT FREUDEN, is by Johann Crüger (1648). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1648): Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676)
- Translated (1867): John Kelly (1833–1890)
- Music (1648): Johann Crüger (1598–1662)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune AUF, AUF, MEIN HERZ MIT FREUDEN by Johann Crüger (1598–1662); 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 Awake, My Heart, with Gladness
What is the doh of Awake, My Heart, with Gladness?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Awake, My Heart, with Gladness start on?
It starts on s (B♭ in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Awake, My Heart, with Gladness in the public domain?
Yes. Paul Gerhardt died in 1676, John Kelly died in 1890, Johann Crüger died in 1662; the words were first published in 1867 and the music in 1648. 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.