I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say in Tonic Solfa

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

sI-

sheard--mthemvoice-sof-

sJe---rsusrsay,-m“Come-

fun--sto-lMe-tand-

srest;-----sLay-

sdown,--mthoumwea--sry-

sone,--rlayrdown-r'Thy-

de'head-r'up--m'on-lMy-

r'breast!”-----sI-

m'came--m'tor'Je--d'sus-

d'as--tItwas,-d'Wea--

r'ry-tand-lworn-sand-

d'sad;-----d'I-

d'found--linlHim-d'a-

d'rest---singsplace,-sAnd-

lHe-d'has-smade-r'me-

d'glad.-----

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Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (G)
Range: r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
Tune: MATERNA
Words: Horatius Bonar
Music: Samuel A. Ward

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Horatius Bonar (1808–1889). Sources and licences.

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 message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.

Doh is C · 4/4

| s - I| s - - m m - s - heard the voice of| s - - r r - m - |Jesus say, “Come

| f - s - l - t - unto Me and| s - - - - - s - |rest; Lay

| s - - m m - s - down, thou weary| s - - r r - r' - |one, lay down Thy

| de' - r' - m' - l - head upon My| r' - - - - - s - |breast!” I

| m' - - m' r' - d' - came to Jesus| d' - - t t - d' - |as I was, Wea-

| r' - t - l - s - ry and worn and| d' - - - - - d' - |sad; I

| d' - - l l - d' - found in Him a| d' - - s s - s - |resting place, And

| l - d' - s - r' - He has made me| d' - - - - - |glad.

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast!”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting-place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live!”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright!”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that Light of Life I’ll walk
Till traveling days are done.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (G), on the word “I”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
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 de. 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

Horatius Bonar wrote these words. They were printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 46.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Horatius Bonar (1808–1889).

Sung to the same tune: And Let This Feeble Body Fail, Behold, the King of Zion Rides, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, My Shepherd Is the Lord on High, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O God, That Madest Earth and Sky, O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word, The Earth, All Light and Loveliness, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.

Questions about I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

What is the doh of I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say?

In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say start on?

It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “I” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say in the public domain?

Yes. Horatius Bonar died in 1889, Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1882. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.