Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains in Tonic Solfa
Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (F)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- FAR, FAR AWAY ON JUDEA
- Words
- John Menzies MacFarlane
- Music
- John Menzies MacFarlane
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FAR, FAR AWAY ON JUDEA by John Menzies MacFarlane (1833–1892); words by John Menzies MacFarlane (1833–1892). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dFar,-dfar-,ra-mway-mon-,fJu- | sde--sa's-,f_mplains,--- |
| rShep--rherds-,moffold-mheardsthe | ljoy-s_fousm_mstrains:-r_- |
| dGlo--dry-,rtomGod,--- | sglo--sry-,ftomGod,--- |
| lGlo--lry-,ltosGod-dindthe | fhigh--m_-rest;--- |
| dPeace-s,on-l,earth,-t,good- | dwill-rto-mmen;--- |
| sPeace--sonsearth,--fgood | mwill-rto-dmen.--- |
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 · 4/4
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
Far, far away on Judea's plains,
Shepherds of old heard the joyous strains:
Glory to God, glory to God,
Glory to God in the
Refrain
highest; Peace on earth, good will to men;
Peace on earth, good will to men.
Sweet are these strains of redeeming love,
Message of mercy from heaven above:
Lord, with the angels we too would rejoice;
Help us to sing with the heart and voice:
Hasten the time when, from every clime,
Men shall unite in the strains sublime:
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. 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- 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 John Menzies MacFarlane, first published in 1869. The tune, FAR, FAR AWAY ON JUDEA, is by John Menzies MacFarlane (1869). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1869): John Menzies MacFarlane (1833–1892)
- Music (1869): John Menzies MacFarlane (1833–1892)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FAR, FAR AWAY ON JUDEA by John Menzies MacFarlane (1833–1892); words by John Menzies MacFarlane (1833–1892). 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 Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains
What is the doh of Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains?
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 Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains start on?
It starts on d (F in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains in the public domain?
Yes. John Menzies MacFarlane died in 1892, John Menzies MacFarlane died in 1892; the words were first published in 1869 and the music in 1869. 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.