Holy God, We Praise Thy Name in Tonic Solfa
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- d (F)
- Range
- t, to l (E to D, a seventh)
- Tune
- TE DEUM
- Words
- Ignaz Franz, Clarence Alphonsus Walworth
- Music
- From Katholisches Gesangbuch, Maria Theresa, 1774
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune TE DEUM (From Katholisches Gesangbuch, Maria Theresa, 1774); words by Ignaz Franz (1719–1790); translated by Clarence Alphonsus Walworth (1820–1900). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dHo----dly- | dGod,-t,_-dwe- | rpraise-m_-rThy- | dName;----- |
| mLord---mof- | mall,-r_-mwe- | sbow-f_-mbe-- | mfore-rThee!--- |
| dAll---don- | dearth-t,_-dThy- | rscep--m_-rter- | dclaim,----- |
| mAll---min- | mHea--rven-ma-- | sbove-f_-ma-- | mdore-rThee;--- |
| rIn----mfin-s_ | fite-m_-rThy- | mvast---fdo-l_ | smain,----- |
| lEv----ler-- | slast--f_-ming- | fis-m_-rThy- | dreign.----- |
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 · 3/4
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
Holy God, we praise Thy Name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee!
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in Heaven above adore Thee;
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
Hark! the loud celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising,
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising;
Fill the heavens with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord.
Lo! the apostolic train
Join the sacred Name to hallow;
Prophets swell the loud refrain,
And the white robed martyrs follow;
And from morn to set of sun,
Through the Church the song goes on.
Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name Thee;
While in essence only One,
Undivided God we claim Thee;
And adoring bend the knee,
While we own the mystery.
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 d (F).
- 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 Ignaz Franz, first published in 1774. The English translation is by Clarence Alphonsus Walworth (1858). The tune, TE DEUM, is from Katholisches Gesangbuch, Maria Theresa, 1774. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1774): Ignaz Franz (1719–1790)
- Translated (1858): Clarence Alphonsus Walworth (1820–1900)
- Melody (1774): From Katholisches Gesangbuch, Maria Theresa, 1774
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune TE DEUM (From Katholisches Gesangbuch, Maria Theresa, 1774); words by Ignaz Franz (1719–1790); translated by Clarence Alphonsus Walworth (1820–1900). 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 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
What is the doh of Holy God, We Praise Thy Name?
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 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name start on?
It starts on d (F in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Holy God, We Praise Thy Name in the public domain?
Yes. Ignaz Franz died in 1790, Clarence Alphonsus Walworth died in 1900; the words were first published in 1858 and the music in 1774. 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.