Firm and Unmov'd Are They in Tonic Solfa
Firm and Unmov'd Are They in Tonic Solfa to SOUTHWELL, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| l,Firm- | dand-dun--t,mov'd-t,are- | l,they-----dThat- |
| drest-dtheir-rsouls-ron- | mGod;-----mFirm- |
| sas-sthe-fmount-fwhere- | mDa--mvid-rdwelt-mOr- |
| rwhere-dthe-t,ark-t,a-- | l,bode.----- |
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- Key
- F minor
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (F)
- Range
- l, to s (F to E♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- SOUTHWELL
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Music
- From William Daman's Psalter, 1579
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune SOUTHWELL (From William Daman's Psalter, 1579); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 Ab · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Firm and unmov'd are they
That rest their souls on God;
Firm as the mount where David dwelt
Or where the ark abode.
As mountains stood to guard
The city's sacred ground,
So God and his almighty love
Embrace his saints around.
What tho' the Father's rod
Drop a chastising stroke,
Yet, lest it wound their souls too deep,
Its fury shall be broke.
Deal gently, Lord, with those
Whose faith and pious fear,
Whose hope, and love, and every grace
Proclaim their hearts sincere.
Nor shall the tyrant's rage
Too long oppress the saint;
The God of Israel will support
His children lest they faint.
But if our slavish fear
Will chuse the road to hell,
We must expect our portion there
Where bolder sinners dwell.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 l, (F), on the word “Firm”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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. 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
Isaac Watts wrote these words for The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719): Psalm 125, part 2, headed “The saints' trial and safety; or, Moderated afflictions”.
Watts' psalms were printed without tunes and sung to any tune of their metre, Short Metre (6.6.8.6). This page sets the words to SOUTHWELL; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words (1719): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Melody (1579): From William Daman's Psalter, 1579
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune SOUTHWELL (From William Daman's Psalter, 1579); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: Along My Earthly Way, And Must This Body Die, Arise, My Gracious God, At the Creation's Birth, Behold Th' Amazing Sight, Behold the Morning Sun, Behold the Sun, How Bright, Blest Are the Sons of Peace, Children of Light, Awake, Come to the House of Prayer, Come, Kingdom of Our God, Come, Ye Who Love the Lord, Destruction's Dangerous Road, Far as Thy Name Is Known, Father, in Whom We Live, From Early Dawning Light, Good Is the Heavenly King, Grace! 'Tis a Charming Sound, Great Is the Lord Our God, Here, in the Broken Bread, How Gentle God's Commands, How Honored Is the Place, In Darkness as in Light, It Is a Comely Thing, Jerusalem, Rejoice, Jesus, My Truth, My Way, Let All Our Tongues Be One, Let God the Father Live, Let Hearts and Tongues Unite, Lord Jesus Think on Me, Lord of the Harvest, Hear, My God, My Life, My Love, My God, Permit My Tongue, My Spirit on Thy Care, O Lord, How Vile Am I, O Spirit, Freed from Earth, O, Where Shall Rest Be Found, Our Heavenly Father, Hear, Religion Can Assuage, Stand Up and Bless the Lord, Sure There's a Righteous God, The God Jehovah Reigns, The Law by Moses Came, The Time Is Drawing Near, The Word of Christ, Our Lord, Thou Seest My Feebleness, To Christ Th' Anointed King, To Thee, O God in Heaven, We Give Thee but Thine Own.
Questions about Firm and Unmov'd Are They
What is the doh of Firm and Unmov'd Are They?
In this version, in F minor, doh is Ab. 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 Firm and Unmov'd Are They start on?
It starts on l, (F in F minor), a pickup on the word “Firm” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is Firm and Unmov'd Are They in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748; the words were first published in 1719 and the music in 1579. 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.