God, Whose Almighty Word in Tonic Solfa
God, Whose Almighty Word in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (D)
- Range
- s, to l (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- ITALIAN HYMN
- Words
- John Marriott
- Music
- Felice de Giardini
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ITALIAN HYMN by Felice de Giardini (1716–1796); words by John Marriott (1780–1825). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sGod,-mwhose-dal-- | rmight--d_-t,y- | dword----- | dCha--ros-mand- |
| fdark-s_f_-mness- | rheard----- | sAnd-mtook-dtheir- | s,flight:----- |
| rHear-mus,-fwe- | mhum---rbledpray,- | rAnd-mwhere-fthe- | mGos---rpeldday- |
| dSheds-mnot-sits- | sglor---lioussray,- | fLet-mthere-rbe- | dlight!----- |
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 · 3/4
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, whose almighty word
Chaos and darkness heard
And took their flight:
Hear us, we humble pray,
And where the Gospel day
Sheds not its glorious ray,
Let there be light!
Lord, who once came to bring,
On your redeeming wing,
Healing and sight,
Health to the sick in mind,
Sight to the inly blind:
Oh, now to humankind
Let there be light!
Spirit of truth and love,
Life giving, holy dove,
Speed forth your flight;
Move on the water's face,
Bearing the lamp of grace,
And in earth's darkest place
Let there be light!
Holy and blessed three,
Glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, love, might!
Boundless as ocean's tide,
Rolling in fullest pride,
Through the earth, far and wide,
Let there be light!
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 s (D).
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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 John Marriott, first published in 1813. The tune, ITALIAN HYMN, is by Felice de Giardini (1769). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1813): John Marriott (1780–1825)
- Music (1769): Felice de Giardini (1716–1796)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ITALIAN HYMN by Felice de Giardini (1716–1796); words by John Marriott (1780–1825). 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, Whose Almighty Word
What is the doh of God, Whose Almighty Word?
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, Whose Almighty Word start on?
It starts on s (D in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is God, Whose Almighty Word in the public domain?
Yes. John Marriott died in 1825, Felice de Giardini died in 1796; the words were first published in 1813 and the music in 1769. 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.