Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold in Tonic Solfa

Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold in Tonic Solfa to DIADEMATA, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

dHark!-dhark!dwithmharps-mof-

lgold,-----lWhat-

san--dthem-fdo-mthey-

rsing?-----rThe-

mra--sdiant-lclouds-shave-

feback--mwardr_srolled,-d'And-

tan--d'gels-lsmite-lthe-

sstring.-----s"Glo--

sry-mto-rGod!"-dbright-

lwings-----lSpread-

lglist'n--feing-mand-ra--

tfar,-----tAnd-

d'on--tthelhal--slowed-

frap--rture-mrings-sFrom-

fcir--mcling-rstar-rto-

dstar.-------

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: d (D)
Range: d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune: DIADEMATA
Words: Edwin Hubbell Chapin
Music: George Job Elvey

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880). 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 D · 4/4

| d - d d m - m - Hark! hark! with harps of| l - - - - - l - |gold, What

| s - d - f - m - anthem do they| r - - - - - r - |sing? The

| m - s - l - s - radiant clouds have| fe - m r s - d' - |backward rolled, And

| t - d' - l - l - angels smite the| s - - - - - s - |string. "Glo-

| s - m - r - d - ry to God!" bright| l - - - - - l - |wings Spread

| l - fe - m - r - glist'ning and a-| t - - - - - t - |far, And

| d' - - t l - s - on the hallowed| f - r - m - s - |rapture rings From

| f - m - r - r - circling star to| d - - - - - - - |star.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Hark! hark! with harps of gold,
What anthem do they sing? —
The radiant clouds have backward rolled,
And angels smite the string.
"Glory to God!" — bright wings
Spread glist'ning and afar,
And on the hallowed rapture rings
From circling star to star.

"Glory to God!" repeat
The glad earth and the sea;
And every wind and billow fleet,
Bears on the jubilee.
Where Hebrew bard hath sung,
Or Hebrew seer hath trod,
Each holy spot has found a tongue;
"Let glory be to God."

Soft swells the music now
Along that shining choir,
And every seraph bends his brow
And breathes above his lyre.
What words of heavenly birth
Thrill deep our hearts again,
And fall like dew-drops to the earth?
"Peace and good-will to men!"

Soft! — yet the soul is bound
With rapture, like a chain:
Earth, vocal, whispers them around,
And heav'n repeats the strain.
Sound, harps, and hail the morn
With ev'ry golden string; —
For unto us this day is born
A Saviour and a King!

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (D).
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 fe. 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

Edwin Hubbell Chapin wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 203 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “The Same”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Short Metre Double (6.6.8.6.6.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to DIADEMATA; any other Short Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880)
Melody (1868): George Job Elvey (1816–1893)

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880).

Sung to the same tune: Ah Whither Should I Go, Ah, When Shall I Awake, And Am I Born to Die, Crown Him with Many Crowns, Equip Me for the War, Father of Boundless Grace, Gracious Redeemer, Shake, Great Source of Life and Light, I Want a Sober Mind, I Was a Wandering Sheep, I Will Not Yield My Sword, In Fellowship, Alone, It Is the Hour of Prayer, Jesu, We Look to Thee, Jesus, My Strength, My Hope, Lord, When at Thy Command, My God, My Strength, My Hope, My Sin Was Very Great, O God, in Mercy Hear, O That I Could Repent, O Thou Who Wouldst Not Have, O Unexhausted Grace, Soldiers of Christ, Arise, Sow in the Morn Thy Seed, Sweet Is the Time of Spring, The Thing My God Doth Hate, We Mourn for Those Who Toil.

Questions about Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold

What is the doh of Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold start on?

It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold in the public domain?

Yes. Edwin Hubbell Chapin died in 1880, George Job Elvey died in 1893; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1868. 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.