Ever Patient, Loving, Meek in Tonic Solfa

Ever Patient, Loving, Meek in Tonic Solfa to RATISBON (WERNER), doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4
sEv--ser-lpa--ttient,-d'lov--d'ing,-tmeek,---
lHo--d'ly-sSa--mviour,-fwas-rthy-dmind;---
mVain--mly-rin-mmy--fself-fI-mseek---
mLike--lness-seto-lmy-tLord-tto-lfind;---
d'Yet-lthe-smind-mthat-fwas-fin-mthee---
lMay-lbe,-smust-mbe,-rformed-rin-dme.---

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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
Anonymous
Music
Werner's Choralbuch, William Henry Havergal

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Anonymous. 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 - Ever patient,| d' - d' - t - - - |loving, meek,
| l - d' - s - m - Holy Saviour,| f - r - d - - - |was thy mind;
| m - m - r - m - Vainly in my-| f - f - m - - - |self I seek
| m - l - se - l - Likeness to my| t - t - l - - - |Lord to find;
| d' - l - s - m - Yet the mind that| f - f - m - - - |was in thee
| l - l - s - m - May be, must be,| r - r - d - - - |formed in me.

Staff notation

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

The words

Ever patient, loving, meek,
Holy Saviour, was thy mind;
Vainly in myself I seek
Likeness to my Lord to find;
Yet the mind that was in thee
May be, must be, formed in me.

Since such griefs were thine to bear,
For each sufferer thou couldst feel,
Every mourner's burden share,
Every wounded spirit heal.
Saviour, let thy grace in me
Form that mind which was in thee.

When my pain is most intense,
Let thy cross my lesson prove;
Let me hear thee even thence;
Breathing words of peace and love;
Thus thy grace shall form in me
The same mind which was in thee.

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

These words were printed without an author's name in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 120, “The Mind Which Was in Christ Jesus”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens, six lines (7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to RATISBON (WERNER); any other Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Anonymous.

Sung to the same tune: As the Hart, with Eager Looks, Centre of Our Hopes Thou Art, Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies, 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 Ever Patient, Loving, Meek

What is the doh of Ever Patient, Loving, Meek?

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 Ever Patient, Loving, Meek start on?

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

Is Ever Patient, Loving, Meek in the public domain?

Yes. William Henry Havergal died in 1870; the words were in print by 1848 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.

More by William Henry Havergal

Everything by William Henry Havergal (19 hymns and 3 hymn tunes)