Hymn · Tonic Solfa
Good King Wenceslas in Tonic Solfa
Good King Wenceslas in Tonic Solfa (doh is G): the solfa with the words, staff notation, all five verses and a piano, for carol services.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM
- Words
- John Mason Neale
- Music
- Traditional spring carol
The solfa with the words
| dGood-dKing-dWen--rces-- | dlas-dlooked-s,out--- |
| l,On-s,the-l,feast-t,of- | dSte----dphen,--- |
| dWhen-dthe-dsnow-rlay- | dround-da--s,bout,--- |
| l,Deep-s,and-l,crisp-t,and- | de----dven;--- |
| sBright--fly-mshone-rthe- | mmoon-rthat-dnight,--- |
| l,Though-s,the-l,frost-t,was- | dcru----del,--- |
| s,When-s,a-l,poor-t,man- | dcame-din-rsight,--- |
| sGath--f’ring-mwin--rter- | dfu----f_--- | del.------- |
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
| d - d - d - r - | d - d - s, - - - |Good King Wenceslas looked out| l, - s, - l, - t, - | d - - - d - - - |On the feast of Stephen,| d - d - d - r - | d - d - s, - - - |When the snow lay round about,| l, - s, - l, - t, - | d - - - d - - - |Deep and crisp and even;| s - f - m - r - | m - r - d - - - |Brightly shone the moon that night,| l, - s, - l, - t, - | d - - - d - - - |Though the frost was cruel,| s, - s, - l, - t, - | d - d - r - - - |When a poor man came in sight,| s - f - m - r - | d - - - f - - - | d - - - - - - - |Gath’ring winter fuel.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
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night,
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
Gathering winter fuel.
“Hither, page, and stand by me,
If thou know’st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence,
Underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence,
By Saint Agnes’ fountain.”
“Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,
Bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I will see him dine,
When we bear them thither.”
Page and monarch, forth they went,
Forth they went together;
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather.
“Sire, the night is darker now,
And the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how;
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, good my page;
Tread thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.”
In his master’s steps he trod,
Where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.
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 d (G).
- 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
John Mason Neale wrote these words in 1853 to a spring carol melody, TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM, from the Finnish-Swedish song book Piae Cantiones (1582). The story is about Wenceslas, a tenth-century Duke of Bohemia, and his page going out in the snow to help a poor man on the feast of Stephen, the day after Christmas.
The verses are written as a conversation, so many choirs give the king's lines to the men and the page's lines to the women.
- Words (1853): John Mason Neale (1818–1866)
- Melody, from Piae Cantiones (1582): Traditional spring carol
Questions about Good King Wenceslas
What is the doh of Good King Wenceslas?
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 Good King Wenceslas start on?
It starts on d (G in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Good King Wenceslas in the public domain?
Yes. John Mason Neale died in 1866; the words were first published in 1853 and the music in 1582. 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.