Built on the Rock in Tonic Solfa
Built on the Rock in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D minor
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- l, (D)
- Range
- l, to d' (D to F, a tenth)
- Tune
- KIRKEN DEN ER ET GAMMELT HUS
- Words
- Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, Carl Døving
- Music
- Ludvig Mathias Lindeman
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune KIRKEN DEN ER ET GAMMELT HUS by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman (1812–1887); words by Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872); translated by Carl Døving (1867–1937). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| l,Built-l,on-mthe- | dRock---l,the- | dchurch---rdoth- | mstand,----- |
| mE--feven-swhen- | mstee--dples-rare- | t,fall------ | l,ing;----- |
| l,Crum--l,bled-mhave- | dspires---l,in- | de----rvery- | mland,----- |
| mBells-festill-sare- | mchim--ding-rand- | t,cal------ | l,ling;----- |
| lCal--sling-fethe- | syoung---mand- | mold---rto- | drest,----- |
| mBut-la--d'bove- | tall---lthe- | ssoul---fedis-- | mtressed,----- |
| mLong--ming-rfor- | drest-rev--der-- | t,last------ | l,ing.----- |
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 F · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Built on the Rock the church doth stand,
Even when steeples are falling;
Crumbled have spires in every land,
Bells still are chiming and calling;
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the soul distressed,
Longing for rest everlasting.
Surely in temples made with hands,
God, the Most High, is not dwelling;
High above earth His temple stands,
All earthly temples excelling;
Yet He whom heav'ns cannot contain
Chose to abide on earth with men,
Built in our bodies His temple.
We are God's house of living stones,
Built for His own habitation;
He through baptismal grace us owns,
Heirs of His wondrous salvation;
Were we but two His Name to tell,
Yet He would deign with us to dwell,
With all His grace and His favor.
Now we may gather with our King;
Ev'n in the lowliest dwelling:
Praises to Him we there may bring,
His wondrous mercy foretelling;
Jesus His grace to us accords,
Spirit and life are all His words,
His truth doth hallow the temple.
Still we our earthly temples rear,
That we may herald His praises;
They are the homes where He draws near
And little children embraces,
Beautiful things in them are said,
God there with us His cov'nant made,
Making us heirs of His kingdom.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 l, (D).
- 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 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
The words are by Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, first published in 1857. The English translation is by Carl Døving (1909). The tune, KIRKEN DEN ER ET GAMMELT HUS, is by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman (1840). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1857): Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872)
- Translated (1909): Carl Døving (1867–1937)
- Music (1840): Ludvig Mathias Lindeman (1812–1887)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune KIRKEN DEN ER ET GAMMELT HUS by Ludvig Mathias Lindeman (1812–1887); words by Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872); translated by Carl Døving (1867–1937). 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 Built on the Rock
What is the doh of Built on the Rock?
In this version, in D minor, doh is F. 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 Built on the Rock start on?
It starts on l, (D in D minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is Built on the Rock in the public domain?
Yes. Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig died in 1872, Carl Døving died in 1937, Ludvig Mathias Lindeman died in 1887; the words were first published in 1909 and the music in 1840. 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.