Hark! The Herald Angels Sing in Tonic Solfa

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing in Tonic Solfa to MENDELSSOHN, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all three verses and a piano.

Key: F major
Doh: F
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s, (C)
Range: s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
Tune: MENDELSSOHN
Words: Charles Wesley, George Whitefield
Music: Felix Mendelssohn, William Hayman Cummings

Tune MENDELSSOHN by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) and William Hayman Cummings (1831–1915); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) and George Whitefield (1714–1770). Sources and licences.

The solfa with the words

Doh is F4/4

s,Hark!-dthe-dher---t,ald

dan--mgels-msing-r_-

sGlo--sry-sto--fthe

mnew--rborn-mKing;---

s,Peace-don-dearth,--t,and

dmer--mcy-mmild,-r_-

sGod-rand-rsin---t,ners

t,re--l,con--s,ciled!---

sJoy--sful,-sall-dye-

fna--mtions,-mrise,-r_-

sJoin-sthe-stri--dumph-

fof-mthe-mskies;-r_-

lWith-lth’an--lgel--sic-

fhost-mpro--fclaim,---

rChrist-misf_sborn--din

dBeth--rle--mhem!---

lHark!--lthelher--sald-

fan--mgels-fsing---

rGlo--mryf_sto--dthe

dnew--rborn-dKing.---

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 F · 4/4

| s, - d - d - - t, Hark! the herald| d - m - m - r - |angels sing

| s - s - s - - f Glory to the| m - r - m - - - |newborn King;

| s, - d - d - - t, Peace on earth, and| d - m - m - r - |mercy mild,

| s - r - r - - t, God and sinners| t, - l, - s, - - - |reconciled!

| s - s - s - d - Joyful, all ye| f - m - m - r - |nations, rise,

| s - s - s - d - Join the triumph| f - m - m - r - |of the skies;

| l - l - l - s - With th’angelic| f - m - f - - - |host proclaim,

| r - m f s - - d Christ is born in| d - r - m - - - |Bethlehem!

| l - - l l - s - Hark! the herald| f - m - f - - - |angels sing

| r - m f s - - d Glory to the| d - r - d - - - |newborn King.

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Refrain

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb!
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum F 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, (C).
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

Charles Wesley's Christmas hymn was published in 1739, beginning 'Hark, how all the welkin rings'; George Whitefield changed the opening to the words sung today. The tune comes from a cantata Felix Mendelssohn wrote in 1840 for a festival celebrating Gutenberg's printing press; William H. Cummings fitted it to these words in the 1850s.

Words (1739): Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Altered the first lines (1753): George Whitefield (1714–1770)
Melody, from his Festgesang (1840): Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
Adapted to these words (1850s): William Hayman Cummings (1831–1915)

Tune MENDELSSOHN by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) and William Hayman Cummings (1831–1915); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) and George Whitefield (1714–1770).

Questions about Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

What is the doh of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing?

In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Herald Angels Sing start on?

It starts on s, (C in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.

Is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing in the public domain?

Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, George Whitefield died in 1770, Felix Mendelssohn died in 1847, William Hayman Cummings died in 1915; the words were first published in 1739 and the music in 1840. 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.