Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning in Tonic Solfa
Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning in Tonic Solfa to WESLEY (MASON), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| d'Bright----testland | sbest-sof-sthe- | lsons-d'of-lthe- | lmorn--sing,--- |
| m'Dawn---r'onr'our | d'dark----tness,tand | llend-sus-fethine- | said!----- |
| d'Star---toflthe | sEast,-sthe-sho-- | f'ri--f'zon-m'a-- | m'dorn--r'ing,--- |
| s'Guide---m'wheref'our | s'in--tfant-d'Re-- | f'deem--m'er-r'is- | d'laid!----- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- d' (A♭)
- Range
- fe to s' (E𝄫 to E♭, a ninth)
- Tune
- WESLEY (MASON)
- Words
- Reginald Heber
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune WESLEY (MASON) by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826). 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 Ab · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid!
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!
Say, shall we yield him, in costly devotion,
Odors of Edom, and offerings divine?
Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?
Vainly we offer each costly oblation;
Vainly with gifts would his favor secure:
Richer by far is the heart's adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.
Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid!
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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' (A♭).
- 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 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
Reginald Heber 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 108, “Epiphany”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Elevens and Tens (11.10.11.10), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to WESLEY (MASON); any other Elevens and Tens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Reginald Heber (1783–1826)
- Music (1833): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune WESLEY (MASON) by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826).
Sung to the same tune: Come unto Me, When Shadows Darkly Gather, Come, with the Load of Sorrow Thou Art Bearing, Lo, in Its Brightness the Morning Arising.
Questions about Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning
What is the doh of Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning start on?
It starts on d' (A♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d'.
Is Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning in the public domain?
Yes. Reginald Heber died in 1826, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1833. 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.