God Himself Is Present in Tonic Solfa
God Himself Is Present in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (B)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- WUNDERBARER KÖNIG
- Words
- Gerhard Tersteegen, Frederick William Foster, John Miller
- Music
- Joachim Neander
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WUNDERBARER KÖNIG by Joachim Neander (1650–1680); words by Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769); translated by Frederick William Foster (1760–1835) and John Miller (1756–1790). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| mGod-mHim--mself-mis- | rpre----rsent:--- |
| dLet-dus-dnow-da-- | t,dore---t,Him,--- |
| l,And-l,with-s,awe-dap-- | rpear-mbe--rfore--- |
| dHim.------- | mGod-mis-min-mHis- |
| rtem----rple,--- | dall-dwith--din-dkeep- |
| t,si----t,lence,--- | l,Pro--l,strate-s,lie-dwith- |
| rdeep--mest-rrev---- | derence.------- |
| mHim---ma---- | flone------- |
| rGod---rwe--- | mown,------- |
| sHim-sour-fGod-mand- | rSa----mvior;--- |
| sPraise-sHis-fname-mfor-- | rev----der.--- |
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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
God Himself is present:
Let us now adore Him,
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple,
all within keep silence,
Prostrate lie with deepest reverence.
Him alone God we own,
Him our God and Savior;
Praise His name forever.
God Himself is present:
Hear the harps resounding!
See the crowds the throne surrounding!
"Holy, holy, holy",
hear the hymn ascending,
Angels, saints, their voices blending!
Bow Thine ear to us here:
Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Thy Church now raises.
O Thou fount of blessing,
Purify my spirit;
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Like the holy angels
Who behold Thy glory,
May I ceaselessly adore Thee,
Let Thy will Ever still
Rule Thy Church terrestrial,
As the hosts celestial.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (B).
- 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
The words are by Gerhard Tersteegen, first published in 1729. The English translation is by Frederick William Foster and John Miller (1789). The tune, WUNDERBARER KÖNIG, is by Joachim Neander (1680). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1729): Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769)
- Translated (1789): Frederick William Foster (1760–1835)
- Translated (1789): John Miller (1756–1790)
- Music (1680): Joachim Neander (1650–1680)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WUNDERBARER KÖNIG by Joachim Neander (1650–1680); words by Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769); translated by Frederick William Foster (1760–1835) and John Miller (1756–1790). 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 God Himself Is Present
What is the doh of God Himself Is Present?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 God Himself Is Present start on?
It starts on m (B in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is God Himself Is Present in the public domain?
Yes. Gerhard Tersteegen died in 1769, Frederick William Foster died in 1835, John Miller died in 1790, Joachim Neander died in 1680; the words were first published in 1789 and the music in 1680. 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.