Comfort, Comfort Ye My People in Tonic Solfa
Comfort, Comfort Ye My People in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 6/4
- Starts on
- d (F)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- FREU DICH SEHR, O MEINE SEELE
- Words
- Johann Olearius (Oelschlaeger), Catherine Winkworth
- Music
- From Trente Quatre Pseaumes de David, Geneva, 1551
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FREU DICH SEHR, O MEINE SEELE (From Trente Quatre Pseaumes de David, Geneva, 1551); words by Johann Olearius (Oelschlaeger) (1611–1684); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dCom----rfort,-mcom----rfort- | dye-t,My-l,peo----s,ple,--- |
| dSpeak---rye-mpeace,---fthus- | msaith---rour---dGod;--- |
| dCom----rfort-mthose---rwho- | dsit-t,in-l,dark----s,ness,--- |
| dMourn----ring-m'neath---ftheir- | msor----rrow's---dload;--- |
| mSpeak---mye-sto---fJe-- | mru--rsa--mlem---____ |
| sOf---sthe-lpeace---sthat- | fwaits-mfor-rthem;---____ |
| mTell---sher-fthat---mher- | dsins-rI-mco----dver,--- |
| mAnd---mher-fwar----mfare- | rnow-dis-t,o----dver.--- |
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 · 6/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrow's load;
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.
For the herald's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance,
Since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.
Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He will no more see nor heed.
She has suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever springing gladness.
Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain:
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign,
For the glory of the Lord
O'er the earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.
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 d (F).
- Count the time. 6/4 means six crotchet beats (two dotted minims) 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
The words are by Johann Olearius (Oelschlaeger), first published in 1671. The English translation is by Catherine Winkworth (1862). The tune, FREU DICH SEHR, O MEINE SEELE, is from Trente Quatre Pseaumes de David, Geneva, 1551. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1671): Johann Olearius (Oelschlaeger) (1611–1684)
- Translated (1862): Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Melody (1551): From Trente Quatre Pseaumes de David, Geneva, 1551
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FREU DICH SEHR, O MEINE SEELE (From Trente Quatre Pseaumes de David, Geneva, 1551); words by Johann Olearius (Oelschlaeger) (1611–1684); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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 Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
What is the doh of Comfort, Comfort Ye My People?
In this version, in F major, 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 Comfort, Comfort Ye My People start on?
It starts on d (F in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Comfort, Comfort Ye My People in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Olearius (Oelschlaeger) died in 1684, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878; the words were first published in 1862 and the music in 1551. 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.