Behold the Lofty Sky in Tonic Solfa
Behold the Lofty Sky in Tonic Solfa to FRANCONIA, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dBe-- | rhold-mthe-flof--sty- | msky-----sDe-- |
| lclares-d'its-fmak--mer- | rGod,-----sAnd- |
| d'all-this-lstar--sry- | lworks-lon-shigh-sPro-- |
| dclaim-mhis-rpower-ra-- | dbroad.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- FRANCONIA
- Words
- Isaac Watts
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 Eb · 4/4
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
Behold the lofty sky
Declares its maker God,
And all his starry works on high
Proclaim his power abroad.
The darkness and the light
Still keep their course the same;
While night to day, and day to night
Divinely teach his name.
In every different land
Their general voice is known
They shew the wonders of his hand,
And orders of his throne.
Ye British lands, rejoice,
Here he reveals his word,
We are not left to nature's voice
To bid us know the Lord.
His statutes and commands
Are set before our eyes;
He puts his gospel in our hands,
Where our salvation lies.
His laws are just and pure,
His truth without deceit,
His promises for ever sure,
And his rewards are great.
Not honey to the taste
Affords so much delight,
Nor gold that has the furnace past
So much allures the sight.
While of thy works I sing,
Thy glory to proclaim,
Accept the praise, my God, my King,
In my Redeemer's name.
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 d (E♭), on the first syllable of “Behold”, 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
Isaac Watts wrote these words for The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719): Psalm 19, part 1, headed “The book of nature and scripture”.
Watts' psalms were printed without tunes and sung to any tune of their metre, Short Metre (6.6.8.6). This page sets the words to FRANCONIA; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words (1719): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1738): Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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: "No More, on Earth No More, Blest Are the Pure in Heart, Come, All Harmonious Tongues, Father, This Slumber Shake, Forever with the Lord, From Egypt Lately Freed, Glad Was My Heart to Hear, God, Who Is Just and Kind, How Sweet to Bless the Lord, How Swift the Torrent Rolls, Jesus Invites His Friends, Jesus, the Friend of Man, Let Every Creature Join, My Father! Cheering Name, O! Know Ye Not That Ye, Our Heavenly Father Calls, Our Lord, Who Knows Full Well, Saviour, Thy Law We Love, Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud, The Lord on High Proclaims, The Year Begins with Thee, This Soul Reviving Wine, To God the Only Wise, Well, the Redeemer's Gone, Within the Father's House.
Questions about Behold the Lofty Sky
What is the doh of Behold the Lofty Sky?
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 Behold the Lofty Sky start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Behold” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Behold the Lofty Sky in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, Johann Balthasar König died in 1758; the words were first published in 1719 and the music in 1738. 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.