Father! I Wait Thy Word. the Sun Doth Stand in Tonic Solfa
Father! I Wait Thy Word. the Sun Doth Stand in Tonic Solfa to PENITENTIA, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mFa----mther!-fI- | swait---dThy--- |
| rword.--rThemsun-fdoth- | mstand------- |
| mBe----rneath-dthe- | lmin----sgling--- |
| sline--soffnight-mand- | rday,------- |
| mA---mlis--ftening- | sser----dvant,--- |
| lwait---linglThy-mcom-- | fmand,------- |
| fTo---mroll-rre-- | sjoic--ding-don-fits- |
| msi----rlent--- | dway.------- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- d to l (E♭ to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- PENITENTIA
- Words
- Jones Very
- Music
- Edward Dearle
Tune PENITENTIA by Edward Dearle (1806–1891); words by Jones Very (1813–1880). 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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Father! I wait Thy word. The sun doth stand
Beneath the mingling line of night and day,
A listening servant, waiting Thy command,
To roll rejoicing on its silent way.
The tongue of time abides the appointed hour,
Till on our ear its solemn warnings fall;
The heavy cloud withholds the pelting shower, —
Then, every drop speeds onward at Thy call.
The bird reposes on the yielding bough,
With breast unswollen by the tide of song; —
So does my spirit wait Thy presence now,
To pour Thy praise in quickening life along.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (G).
- 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. 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
Jones Very wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 268, “The Son”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Tens (10.10.10.10), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to PENITENTIA; any other Tens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Jones Very (1813–1880)
- Music (1880): Edward Dearle (1806–1891)
Tune PENITENTIA by Edward Dearle (1806–1891); words by Jones Very (1813–1880).
Sung to the same tune: Glory to God! the Christ Hath Left the Tomb, Hail, Full of Grace, Virgin Theotokos, Now with My Weeping Would I Cleanse My Soul, Rest in the Lord, O Servant by His Grace, Thou That Art Strong to Comfort, Look on Me, Wake to the Songs That Lips Unsullied Sing.
Questions about Father! I Wait Thy Word. the Sun Doth Stand
What is the doh of Father! I Wait Thy Word. the Sun Doth Stand?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Father! I Wait Thy Word. the Sun Doth Stand start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Father! I Wait Thy Word. the Sun Doth Stand in the public domain?
Yes. Jones Very died in 1880, Edward Dearle died in 1891; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1880. 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.