Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies in Tonic Solfa

Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies in Tonic Solfa to RATISBON (WERNER): the solfa with the words, staff notation, the three verses, and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

sChrist,-swhose-lglo--try-

d'fills-d'the-tskies,---

lChrist,-d'the-strue,-mthe-

fon--rly-dLight,---

mSun-mof-rRight--meous--

fness,-fa--mrise,---

mTri--lumph-seo’er-lthe-

tshades-tof-lnight;---

d'Day--lspring-sfrom-mon-

fhigh,-fbe-mnear;---

lDay--lstar,-sin-mmy-

rheart-rap--dpear.---

Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →

Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir

Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (A)
Range: d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune: RATISBON (WERNER)
Words: Charles Wesley
Music: Werner's Choralbuch, William Henry Havergal

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). 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 D · 4/4

| s - s - l - t - Christ, whose glory| d' - d' - t - - - |fills the skies,

| l - d' - s - m - Christ, the true, the| f - r - d - - - |only Light,

| m - m - r - m - Sun of Righteous-| f - f - m - - - |ness, arise,

| m - l - se - l - Triumph o’er the| t - t - l - - - |shades of night;

| d' - l - s - m - Dayspring from on| f - f - m - - - |high, be near;

| l - l - s - m - Daystar, in my| r - r - d - - - |heart appear.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near;
Day-star, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (A).
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 and the chromatic se. 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

Charles Wesley published these words in 1740. The tune RATISBON comes from Werner’s Choralbuch (Leipzig, 1815), harmonised by William Henry Havergal in 1861.

Words (1740): Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Melody (1815): Werner's Choralbuch
Harmony (1861): William Henry Havergal (1793–1870)

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788).

Sung to the same tune: As the Hart, with Eager Looks, Centre of Our Hopes Thou Art, Ever Patient, Loving, Meek, Holy Spirit, Come with Power, It Is Finished! Glorious Word, Jesu, Shepherd of the Sheep, Jesus, I Believe Thee Near, Jesus, While He Dwelt Below, Lamb of God, Who Bear'st Away, On Thy Church, O Power Divine, Praise to God, Immortal Praise, Quiet, Lord, My Froward Heart, Safely Through Another Week, Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul, Weary Souls, That Wander Wide, When the Parting Bosom Bleeds, Who Shall Towards Thy Chosen Seat.

Questions about Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

What is the doh of Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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, Whose Glory Fills the Skies start on?

It starts on s (A in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies in the public domain?

Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, William Henry Havergal died in 1870; the words were first published in 1740 and the music in 1815. 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.