Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise in Tonic Solfa
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise in Tonic Solfa to ST DENIO, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, four verses and a piano.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- f, to s (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- ST DENIO
- Words
- Walter Chalmers Smith
- Music
- Welsh melody
Tune ST DENIO (Welsh melody); words by Walter Chalmers Smith (1824–1908). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dIm-- | l,mor--f,tal,-rin-- | t,vis--s,i--dble,- | mGod-mon--rly- | dwise,---dIn- |
| l,light-f,in--rac-- | t,ces--s,si--dble- | mhid-mfrom-rour- | deyes,---dMost- |
| mbless--med,-smost- | mglo--drious,-dthe- | mAn--mcient-sof- | rDays,---mAl-- |
| dmight--l,y,-rvic-- | t,to--s,rious,-dThy- | mgreat-mname-rwe- | dpraise.--- |
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 G · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish; but nought changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth Thee.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (G), on the first syllable of “Immortal”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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
Walter Chalmers Smith, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, published this hymn on 1 Timothy 1:17 in Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life (1867). ST DENIO is a Welsh folk melody printed in John Roberts's Caniadau y Cyssegr in 1839.
- Words (1867): Walter Chalmers Smith (1824–1908)
- Melody, printed in John Roberts's Caniadau y Cyssegr (1839): Welsh melody
Tune ST DENIO (Welsh melody); words by Walter Chalmers Smith (1824–1908).
Questions about Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
What is the doh of Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise start on?
It starts on d (G in G major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Immortal” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise in the public domain?
Yes. Walter Chalmers Smith died in 1908; the words were first published in 1867 and the music in 1839. 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.