Light of Life, Seraphic Fire in Tonic Solfa
Light of Life, Seraphic Fire in Tonic Solfa to MARTYN, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mLight---mof-mlife,---dse-- | rraph----ric-rfire!----- |
| mLove---mdi--svine,---fThy-- | mself-----rim------ |
| dpart:----------- | mEv----mery-mfaint----ding- |
| rsoul---rin--rspire;----- | mEn----mter-sev----fery- |
| mdroop------ring----- | dheart:----------- |
| sEv----sery-smourn----sful- | lspi------lrit----- |
| scheer,----------- | sScat----ster-sall---sour- |
| ldoubt-----land----- | sgloom;----------- |
| mFa----mther,-min---dThy- | rgrace---rap--rpear,----- |
| mTo---mThy-shu----fman- | mtem------rples----- |
| dcome!----------- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 6/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- d to l (F to D, a sixth)
- Tune
- MARTYN
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Simeon B. Marsh
Tune MARTYN by Simeon B. Marsh (died undefined); words by Anonymous. 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 · 6/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Light of life, seraphic fire!
Love divine, Thyself impart:
Every fainting soul inspire;
Enter every drooping heart:
Every mournful spirit cheer,
Scatter all our doubt and gloom;
Father, in Thy grace appear,
To Thy human temples come!
Come in this accepted hour,
Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in;
Fill us with Thy glorious power,
Rooting out the seeds of sin:
Nothing more can we require,
We can rest in nothing less:
Be Thou all our heart's desire,
All our joy and all our peace.
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. 6/4 means six crotchet beats (two dotted minims) 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. 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
These words were printed without an author's name in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 21, “The Light of Life”, where the book credits them to a Wesleyan source.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MARTYN; any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1834): Simeon B. Marsh (died undefined)
Tune MARTYN by Simeon B. Marsh (died undefined); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: Christ, by Heav’nly Hosts Adored, God, from Whom All Blessings Flow, Men! Whose Boast It Is That Ye, Omnipresent God! Whose Aid, Other Ground Can No Man Lay, Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart, Saved by Blood I Live to Tell, See the Gloomy Gath'ring Cloud, See! Another Year Is Gone, Though the Morn May Be Serene, Time, with an Unwearied Hand.
Questions about Light of Life, Seraphic Fire
What is the doh of Light of Life, Seraphic Fire?
In this version, in F major, 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 of Life, Seraphic Fire start on?
It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Light of Life, Seraphic Fire in the public domain?
Yes. Simeon B. Marsh died in undefined; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1834. 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.