Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty in Tonic Solfa
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty in Tonic Solfa, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, all four verses and a piano.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- NICAEA
- Words
- Reginald Heber
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune NICAEA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dHo--dly,-mho--mly,- | sho----sly!--- |
| lLord---lGod-lAl-- | smight----my!--- |
| sEar---slysin-sthe- | d'morn----ting-sour- |
| rsong-sshall-lrise--sto | sThee;------- |
| dHo--dly,-mho--mly,- | sho----sly!--- |
| lmer---lci-lful-land- | smight----sy,--- |
| d'God---sin-sthree- | lPer----msons,--- |
| fbless--red-rTrin---di- | dty!------- |
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
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
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. 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
Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, wrote this hymn for Trinity Sunday; it was printed in 1826, the year he died. John Bacchus Dykes composed the tune NICAEA for it in 1861, named after the Council of Nicaea.
- Words (1826): Reginald Heber (1783–1826)
- Melody (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune NICAEA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826).
Questions about Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty
What is the doh of Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty?
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 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty start on?
It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty in the public domain?
Yes. Reginald Heber died in 1826, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were first published in 1826 and the music in 1861. 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.