From God Shall Naught Divide Me in Tonic Solfa
From God Shall Naught Divide Me in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G minor
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (G)
- Range
- m, to m (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LASSEN
- Words
- Ludwig Helmbold, Catherine Winkworth
- Music
- Traditional French
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LASSEN (traditional French); words by Ludwig Helmbold (1532–1598); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| l,From- | l,God-t,shall-dnaught-rdi-- | t,vide---s,me,-s,For- |
| l,He-l,is-t,true-t,for- | m,aye,---__l,And- |
| l,on-t,my-dpath-rwill- | t,guide---s,me,-s,Who- |
| l,else-l,should-t,of--t,ten- | m,stray;---__mHis- |
| re--dver-t,boun--l,teous- | t,hand---__t,By- |
| dnight-rand-mday-mis- | rheed----t,ful-rAnd- |
| dgives-t,me-l,what-l,is- | t,need----s,ful,-f,Wher-- |
| m,e'er-l,I-l,go-se,or- | l,stand.--- |
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 Bb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
From God shall naught divide me,
For He is true for aye,
And on my path will guide me,
Who else should often stray;
His ever bounteous hand
By night and day is heedful
And gives me what is needful,
Where'er I go or stand.
If sorrow comes, He sent it
In Him I put my trust;
I never shall repent it,
For He is true and just,
And loves to bless us still;
My life and soul I owe them
To Him who doth bestow them,
Let Him do as He will.
Whate'er shall be His pleasure
Is surely best for me;
He gave His dearest treasure,
That our weak hearts might see
How good His will toward us;
And in His Son He gave us
Whate'er could bless and save us;
Praise Him who loveth thus!
O praise Him, for He never
Forgets our daily need;
O blest the hour whenever
To Him our thoughts can speed;
Yea, all the time we spend
Without Him is but wasted,
Till we His joy have tasted,
The joy that hath no end.
For when the world is passing
With all its pomp and pride,
All we were here amassing
No longer may abide;
But in our earthly bed,
Where softly we are sleeping,
God hath us in His keeping,
To wake us from the dead.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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, (G), on the word “From”, 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 and the chromatic se. 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 Ludwig Helmbold, first published in 1563. The English translation is by Catherine Winkworth (1863). The tune, VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LASSEN, is Traditional French. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1563): Ludwig Helmbold (1532–1598)
- Translated (1863): Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Melody (1557): Traditional French
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LASSEN (traditional French); words by Ludwig Helmbold (1532–1598); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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 From God Shall Naught Divide Me
What is the doh of From God Shall Naught Divide Me?
In this version, in G minor, doh is Bb. 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 From God Shall Naught Divide Me start on?
It starts on l, (G in G minor), a pickup on the word “From” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is From God Shall Naught Divide Me in the public domain?
Yes. Ludwig Helmbold died in 1598, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878; the words were first published in 1863 and the music in 1557. 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.