Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal in Tonic Solfa
Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal in Tonic Solfa to GALILEE (JUDE), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mChrist,s,the | rlight-rthat-rshiness,e- | dter--dnal,—-dLightdthat | dgilds--l,thedroll-ring | mspheres,---mDawnl,up- |
| ron-rour-rnight,s,and | dkeep-dus-mPuremas | flight-l,when-mdayrap- | dpears.--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (C)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- GALILEE (JUDE)
- Words
- Traditional Latin, John Brownlie
- Music
- William Herbert Jude
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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
Christ, the light that shines eternal,—
Light that gilds the rolling spheres,
Dawn upon our night, and keep us
Pure as light when day appears.
Let no gin of Satan snare us,
Let no enemy oppress;
Wakeful aye with garments spotless,
May we walk life’s wilderness.
Keep our hearts in Thy safe keeping,
Be Thy flock Thy special care;
In Thy fold in mercy tend them,
Guard their footsteps everywhere.
And our souls shall sing triumphant
When Thy light our eyes shall see,
And the vows we owe are rendered,
God, the great Triune, to Thee.
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 m (C), on the word “Christ”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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. 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 Brownlie translated these words from the Latin hymns of the early Church for Hymns of the Early Church (London, 1896), where he gives them as “By Magnus Felix Ennodius”, headed “Friday Morning”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Eights and Sevens (8.7.8.7), and this page sets them to GALILEE (JUDE); any other Eights and Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Latin
- Translated (1896): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1887): William Herbert Jude (1851–1922)
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father, From the Table Now Retiring, In the Cross of Christ We Glory, Jesus Calls Us o’er the Tumult, Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth, Lord, a Band of Foes Increasing, On the Dewy Breath of Even, Praise the Lord, When Blushing Morning, Soldier, to the Contest Pressing.
Questions about Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal
What is the doh of Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal?
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 Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major), a pickup on the word “Christ” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, William Herbert Jude died in 1922; the words were in print by 1896 and the music in 1887. 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.