Jesus Shall Reign in Tonic Solfa
Jesus Shall Reign in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 2/2
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- DUKE STREET
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Music
- John Hatton
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DUKE STREET by John Hatton (1710–1793); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dJe----msus-fshall- | sreign---lwher--t_- |
| d'e'er---tthe-l_- | ssun------- |
| sDoes---shis-ssuc-- | lces----ssive--- |
| fjour----mneys--- | rrun;------- |
| mHis---mking--rdom- | dstretch-m_-sfrom-d'_- |
| lshore-s_-fto-m_- | rshore------- |
| sTill---lmoons-tshall- | d'wax-----fand- |
| mwane---rno--- | dmore.------- |
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 Eb · 2/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
For Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name, like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
Blessings abound where'er He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blest.
Where He displays His healing power
Death and the curse are known no more;
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King,
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (E♭).
- Count the time. 2/2 means two minim 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 Isaac Watts, first published in 1719. The tune, DUKE STREET, is by John Hatton (1793). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1719): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1793): John Hatton (1710–1793)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DUKE STREET by John Hatton (1710–1793); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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.
Sung to the same tune: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Duke Street).
Questions about Jesus Shall Reign
What is the doh of Jesus Shall Reign?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Jesus Shall Reign start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Jesus Shall Reign in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, John Hatton died in 1793; the words were first published in 1719 and the music in 1793. 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.