God Is Love; His Mercy Brightens in Tonic Solfa
God Is Love; His Mercy Brightens in Tonic Solfa to ST. OSWALD, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sGod--misllove;-d'his- | tmer--lcy-sbright--mens- |
| dAll-dthe-rpath-min- | swhich-lwe-srove;--- |
| sBliss--mhelwakes,-d'and- | twoe-lhe-slight--sens;- |
| sGod-d'is-d'wis--mdom,- | sGod-ris-dlove.--- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (B♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- ST. OSWALD
- Words
- John Bowring
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune ST. OSWALD by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by John Bowring (1792–1872). 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
God is love; his mercy brightens
All the path in which we rove;
Bliss he wakes, and woe he lightens;
God is wisdom, God is love.
Chance and change are busy ever;
Man decays, and ages move;
But his mercy waneth never;
God is wisdom, God is love.
E'en the hour that darkest seemeth
Will his changeless goodness prove;
From the gloom his brightness streameth,
God is wisdom, God is love.
He with earthly cares entwineth
Hope and comfort from above:
Everywhere his glory shineth;
God is wisdom, God is love.
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 s (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 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
John Bowring wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 114 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “God is Love”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Eights and Sevens (8.7.8.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ST. OSWALD; any other Eights and Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Bowring (1792–1872)
- Music (1857): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune ST. OSWALD by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by John Bowring (1792–1872).
Sung to the same tune: Heaven Is Here; Its Hymns of Gladness, To Thy Cross and Resurrection.
Questions about God Is Love; His Mercy Brightens
What is the doh of God Is Love; His Mercy Brightens?
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 God Is Love; His Mercy Brightens start on?
It starts on s (B♭ in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is God Is Love; His Mercy Brightens in the public domain?
Yes. John Bowring died in 1872, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1857. 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.