Forty Days and Forty Nights in Tonic Solfa
Forty Days and Forty Nights in Tonic Solfa to HEINLEIN: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the six verses, and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mFor--mty-l,days-t,and- | dfor--rty-mnights--- |
| mThou-mwast-sfast--sing- | fein-fethe-mwild;--- |
| mFor--mty-fdays-fand- | rfor--rty-mnights--- |
| mTempt--med,-rand-dyet- | t,un--t,de--l,filed.--- |
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- Key
- D minor
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- l, to s (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- HEINLEIN
- Words
- George H. Smyttan
- Music
- Martin Herbst, Nurnberg
Tune HEINLEIN by Martin Herbst (died undefined) and Nurnberg (died undefined); words by George H. Smyttan (1822–1870). 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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Forty days and forty nights
Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.
Sunbeams scorching all the day;
Chilly dew-drops nightly shed;
Prowling beasts about Thy way;
Stones Thy pillow; earth Thy bed.
Shall not we Thy sorrow share,
And from earthly joys abstain,
Fasting with unceasing prayer,
Glad with Thee to suffer pain?
And if Satan, vexing sore,
Flesh or spirit should assail,
Thou, his Vanquisher before,
Grant we may not faint nor fail.
So shall we have peace Divine;
Holier gladness ours shall be;
Round us too shall Angels shine,
Such as ministered to Thee.
Keep, O keep us, Saviour dear,
Ever constant by Thy side;
That with Thee we may appear
At the eternal Eastertide.
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 m (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 fe. 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
George H. Smyttan’s Lenten hymn was published in 1856. The tune HEINLEIN was printed in Nuremberg in 1676 and is attributed to Martin Herbst.
- Words (1856): George H. Smyttan (1822–1870)
- Music, attributed (1676): Martin Herbst (died undefined)
- Music (1676): Nurnberg (died undefined)
Tune HEINLEIN by Martin Herbst (died undefined) and Nurnberg (died undefined); words by George H. Smyttan (1822–1870).
Sung to the same tune: All Ye Nations, Praise the Lord, As the Sun's Enliv'ning Eye, Bless, O Lord, Each Opening Year, Child, Amidst the Flowers at Play, Clay to Clay, and Dust to Dust, Father! We Look Up to Thee, Gently Fall the Dews of Eve, Heavenly Father! to Whose Eye, High, in Yonder Realms of Light, Jesu, Shall I Never Be, Let Me Dwell on Golgotha, Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills, Lord! Subdue Our Selfish Will, Mighty One, Before Whose Face, Now the Shades of Night Are Gone, Praise, O Praise Our God and King, See, the World for Youth Prepares, Sin, When Viewed by Scripture Light, Soul! Celestial in Thy Birth, Thine Forever, God of Love, Thou Who Roll’st the Year Around, While I Lived Without the Lord.
Questions about Forty Days and Forty Nights
What is the doh of Forty Days and Forty Nights?
In this version, in D minor, 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 Forty Days and Forty Nights start on?
It starts on m (A in D minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Forty Days and Forty Nights in the public domain?
Yes. George H. Smyttan died in 1870, Martin Herbst died in undefined, Nurnberg died in undefined; the words were first published in 1856 and the music in 1676. 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.