Faith of Our Fathers in Tonic Solfa

Faith of Our Fathers in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.

Key: G major
Doh: G
Time: 3/4
Starts on: m (B)
Range: s, to f (D to C, a seventh)
Tune: ST. CATHERINE
Words: Frederick William Faber, James George Walton
Music: Henri Frederick Hemy

The solfa with the words

Doh is G3/4

mFaith-rof-dour-

dfa--t,_-dthers,-

rliv--l,_-t,ing-

dstill,-----

dIn-t,spite-l,of-

s,dun----dgeon,-

dfi--t,re-dand-

rsword;-----

mO-rhow-dour-

dhearts-t,_-dbeat-

rhigh-l,_-t,with-

djoy-----

dWhen--t,e'er-l,we-

s,hear---mthat-

rglo--m_-rrious-

dWord!-----

fFaith-fof-four-

mfa----mthers,-

rho----rly-

mfaith!-----

mWe-rwill-dbe-

l,true---dto-

rthee---rtill-

ddeath.-----

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 G · 3/4

| m - r - d - O how our| d - t, - d - hearts beat| r - l, - t, - high with| d - - - - - |joy

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene'er we hear that glorious Word!
Faith of our

Refrain

fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (B).
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 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 Frederick William Faber and James George Walton, first published in 1849. The tune, ST. CATHERINE, is by Henri Frederick Hemy. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.

Words (1849): Frederick William Faber (1814–1863)
Words (1849): James George Walton (1821–1905)
Music: Henri Frederick Hemy (1818–1888)

Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. CATHERINE by Henri Frederick Hemy (1818–1888); words by Frederick William Faber (1814–1863) and James George Walton (1821–1905). 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 Faith of Our Fathers

What is the doh of Faith of Our Fathers?

In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Faith of Our Fathers start on?

It starts on m (B in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.

Is Faith of Our Fathers in the public domain?

Yes. Frederick William Faber died in 1863, James George Walton died in 1905, Henri Frederick Hemy died in 1888; the words were first published in 1849 and the music in 1874. 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.