Hark the Glad Sound in Tonic Solfa
Hark the Glad Sound in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 7 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
- CHESTERFIELD
- Words
- Philip Doddridge
- Music
- Thomas Haweis
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune CHESTERFIELD by Thomas Haweis (1734–1820); words by Philip Doddridge (1702–1751). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| s,Hark,-dthe-mglad- | ssound!---fthe- | mSa--f_-rvior- | dcomes!---mThe- |
| rSa--s_-dvior- | t,pro--d_-l,mised- | s,long;---rLet- | mev--r_-dery- |
| fheart-m_-rpre-- | spare-f_-ma- | lthrone,---dAnd- | l,ev--f_-mery- |
| rvoice-d_-t,a- | dsong.----- |
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
Hark, the glad sound! the Savior comes!
The Savior promised long;
Let every heart prepare a throne,
And every voice a song.
On Him the Spirit, largely poured,
Exerts its sacred Fire;
Wisdom and might, and zeal and love,
His holy Breast inspire.
He comes the pris'ners to release,
In Satan's bondage held;
The gates of brass before Him burst,
The iron fetters yield.
He comes from thickest films of vice
To clear the mental ray,
And on the eyeballs of the blind
To pour celestial day.
He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure;
And with the treasures of His grace
T'enrich the humble poor.
His silver trumpets publish loud
The jub'lee of the Lord
Our debts are all remitted now
Our heritage restored.
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
Thy welcome shall proclaim;
And Heav'n's eternal arches ring
With Thy belovèd name.
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 Philip Doddridge, first published in 1735. The tune, CHESTERFIELD, is by Thomas Haweis (1792). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1735): Philip Doddridge (1702–1751)
- Music (1792): Thomas Haweis (1734–1820)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune CHESTERFIELD by Thomas Haweis (1734–1820); words by Philip Doddridge (1702–1751). 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 Hark the Glad Sound
What is the doh of Hark the Glad Sound?
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 Hark the Glad Sound start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Hark the Glad Sound in the public domain?
Yes. Philip Doddridge died in 1751, Thomas Haweis died in 1820; the words were first published in 1735 and the music in 1792. 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.