Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills in Tonic Solfa
Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills in Tonic Solfa to HEINLEIN, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mLight-mis-l,daw--t,ning- | d'mong-rthe-mhills,--- |
| mLight-mof-slight-sThy- | febeams-fedis--mplay,--- |
| mAll-mthe-fdark--fness- | rchase-ra--mway,--- |
| mLight-mthat-rdawned-dup-- | t,on-t,our-l,ills.--- |
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- Key
- D minor
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- l, to s (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- HEINLEIN
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Martin Herbst, Nurnberg
Tune HEINLEIN by Martin Herbst (died undefined) and Nurnberg (died undefined); 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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Light is dawning 'mong the hills,
Light of light Thy beams display,
All the darkness chase away,
Light that dawned upon our ills.
Dark the day the Cross was raised
By the hands of cruel men;
Great Thy load of sorrow then;
Angel hosts were sore amazed.
Dark the world while in the tomb,
Lone in death the Saviour lay,
Till the stone was rolled away,
And His Rising quelled the gloom.
Fadeless now, O Light of light,
Glory of the Father, Thou,
Shine upon Thy people now,
Rise upon their darkest night.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 m (A).
- 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 fe. 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 from the East (Paisley, in print by 1911).
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sevens (7.7.7.7), and this page sets them to HEINLEIN; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (by 1911): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music, attributed (1676): Martin Herbst (died undefined)
- Music (1676): Nurnberg (died undefined)
Tune HEINLEIN by Martin Herbst (died undefined) and Nurnberg (died undefined); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: All Ye Nations, Praise the Lord, As the Sun's Enliv'ning Eye, Bless, O Lord, Each Opening Year, Child, Amidst the Flowers at Play, Clay to Clay, and Dust to Dust, Father! We Look Up to Thee, Forty Days and Forty Nights, Gently Fall the Dews of Eve, Heavenly Father! to Whose Eye, High, in Yonder Realms of Light, Jesu, Shall I Never Be, Let Me Dwell on Golgotha, Lord! Subdue Our Selfish Will, Mighty One, Before Whose Face, Now the Shades of Night Are Gone, Praise, O Praise Our God and King, See, the World for Youth Prepares, Sin, When Viewed by Scripture Light, Soul! Celestial in Thy Birth, Thine Forever, God of Love, Thou Who Roll’st the Year Around, While I Lived Without the Lord.
Questions about Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills
What is the doh of Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills?
In this version, in D minor, doh is F. 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 Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills start on?
It starts on m (A in D minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Light Is Dawning 'Mong the Hills in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Martin Herbst died in undefined, Nurnberg died in undefined; the words were in print by 1911 and the music in 1676. 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.