It Is a Comely Thing in Tonic Solfa
It Is a Comely Thing in Tonic Solfa to SOUTHWELL, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| l,It- | dis-da-t,come--t,ly- | l,thing-----dTo- |
| dglo--dri--rfy-rand- | mpraise-----mOur- |
| sGod,-sthe-fEv--fer-- | mlast--ming-rWord,-mAnd- |
| rLord-dof-t,end--t,less- | l,days.----- |
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- Key
- F minor
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (F)
- Range
- l, to s (F to E♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- SOUTHWELL
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- From William Daman's Psalter, 1579
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune SOUTHWELL (From William Daman's Psalter, 1579); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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 Ab · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
It is a comely thing
To glorify and praise
Our God, the Everlasting Word,
And Lord of endless days.
The trembling cherubim
Before Him fold their wings,
And all the heavenly hosts adore
The mighty King of kings.
We would our offering give, —
O Christ, to Thee we pray,
For Thou didst break the bands of death
When dawned the glorious day.
To Thee, Thou Three in One,
Ascend our songs divine;
One power, one kingdom without end,
And one dominion Thine.
O Christ, the source of light,
With light my soul inspire;
Come, make my heart the bright abode
Of Thy celestial fire.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 l, (F), on the word “It”, 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. 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
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns of the Greek Church (Edinburgh and London, 1900).
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Short Metre (6.6.8.6), and this page sets them to SOUTHWELL; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1900): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Melody (1579): From William Daman's Psalter, 1579
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune SOUTHWELL (From William Daman's Psalter, 1579); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: Along My Earthly Way, And Must This Body Die, Arise, My Gracious God, At the Creation's Birth, Behold Th' Amazing Sight, Behold the Morning Sun, Behold the Sun, How Bright, Blest Are the Sons of Peace, Children of Light, Awake, Come to the House of Prayer, Come, Kingdom of Our God, Come, Ye Who Love the Lord, Destruction's Dangerous Road, Far as Thy Name Is Known, Father, in Whom We Live, Firm and Unmov'd Are They, From Early Dawning Light, Good Is the Heavenly King, Grace! 'Tis a Charming Sound, Great Is the Lord Our God, Here, in the Broken Bread, How Gentle God's Commands, How Honored Is the Place, In Darkness as in Light, Jerusalem, Rejoice, Jesus, My Truth, My Way, Let All Our Tongues Be One, Let God the Father Live, Let Hearts and Tongues Unite, Lord Jesus Think on Me, Lord of the Harvest, Hear, My God, My Life, My Love, My God, Permit My Tongue, My Spirit on Thy Care, O Lord, How Vile Am I, O Spirit, Freed from Earth, O, Where Shall Rest Be Found, Our Heavenly Father, Hear, Religion Can Assuage, Stand Up and Bless the Lord, Sure There's a Righteous God, The God Jehovah Reigns, The Law by Moses Came, The Time Is Drawing Near, The Word of Christ, Our Lord, Thou Seest My Feebleness, To Christ Th' Anointed King, To Thee, O God in Heaven, We Give Thee but Thine Own.
Questions about It Is a Comely Thing
What is the doh of It Is a Comely Thing?
In this version, in F minor, doh is Ab. 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 It Is a Comely Thing start on?
It starts on l, (F in F minor), a pickup on the word “It” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is It Is a Comely Thing in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925; the words were in print by 1900 and the music in 1579. 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.