Hark the Sound of Holy Voices in Tonic Solfa
Hark the Sound of Holy Voices in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- O DURCHBRECHER
- Words
- Christopher Wordsworth
- Music
- Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune O DURCHBRECHER by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670–1739); words by Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dHark-rthe-msound-rof- | mho--fely-svoi--sces,- |
| d'chan--d'ting-tat-d'the- | tcrys--ltal-ssea--- |
| dHal--rle--mlu--ria!- | mHal--fele--slu--sia!- |
| d'Hal--d'le--tlu--d'ia!- | tLord-lto-sThee.--- |
| d'Mul--sti--ltude-lwhich- | snone--fcanmnum--dber,- |
| mlike-mthe-sstars-sin- | fglo--mry-rstand--- |
| sClothed-sin-fwhite-map-- | fpa---srel,mhol--dding- |
| rpalms-mof-fvic--st'ry- | min-rtheir-dhand.--- |
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 D · 4/4
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 the sound of holy voices,
chanting at the crystal sea
Halleluia! Halleluia!
Halleluia! Lord to Thee.
Multitude which none can number,
like the stars in glory stand
Clothed in white apparel, holding
palms of vict'ry in their hand.
Patriarch and holy prophet,
who prepared the way for Christ,
King, Apostle, Saint, and Martyr
Confessor, Evangelist,
Saintly Maiden, godly Matron,
Widows who have watched to prayer,
Joined in holy concert singing
to the Lord of all are there.
They have come from tribulation,
and have washed their robes in Blood,
Washed them in the Blood of Jesus;
tried they were, and firm they stood;
Mocked, imprisoned, stoned, tormented,
sawn asunder, slain with sword,
They have conquered Death and Satan,
by the might of Christ the Lord.
Marching with Thy Cross their banner
they have triumphed following
Thee the Captain of Salvation,
Thee their Savior and their King;
Gladly, Lord, with Thee they suffered;
gladly, Lord, with Thee they died;
And by death to Life immortal
they were born, and glorified.
Now they reign in heav'nly glory,
now they walk in golden light,
Now they drink, as from a river,
holy bliss and infinite;
Love and Peace they taste forever,
and all Truth and Knowledge see
In the beatific vision
of the Blessèd Trinity.
D God of God, the One-begotten, Light of Light, Emmanuel,
In whose Body joined together all the saints forever dwell,
Pour upon us of Thy fullness, that we may forevermore
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost adore.
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
The words are by Christopher Wordsworth, first published in 1862. The tune, O DURCHBRECHER, is by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1704). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1862): Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885)
- Music (1704): Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670–1739)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune O DURCHBRECHER by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670–1739); words by Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885). 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 Sound of Holy Voices
What is the doh of Hark the Sound of Holy Voices?
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 the Sound of Holy Voices start on?
It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Hark the Sound of Holy Voices in the public domain?
Yes. Christopher Wordsworth died in 1885, Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen died in 1739; the words were first published in 1862 and the music in 1704. 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.