Light of the Gentile Nations in Tonic Solfa
Light of the Gentile Nations in Tonic Solfa to GREENLAND, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mLight- | sof-sthe-sGen--stile- | d'na----mtions,-mThy- |
| rpeo--rple’s-fJoy-fand- | mLove!-----rDrawn- |
| mby-sThy-sSpir--sit- | d'hith----feer,-feWe- |
| sglad--lly-tcome-lto- | sprove-----tThy- |
| d'pre--ssence-fin-mThy- | mtem----rple-tAnd- |
| d'seek-swith-fear--mnest- | rmind,-----s,As- |
| dSime--mon-sonce--sehad | twait----led-lHis- |
| sSa--mvior-mGod--rto | dfind.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- s, to d' (B♭ to E♭)
- Tune
- GREENLAND
- Words
- Johann Franck, Catherine Winkworth
- Music
- Johann Michael Haydn, B. Jacob
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by Johann Franck (1618–1677); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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 Eb · 4/4
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
Light of the Gentile nations,
Thy people’s Joy and Love!
Drawn by Thy Spirit hither,
We gladly come to prove
Thy presence in Thy temple
And seek with earnest mind,
As Simeon once had waited
His Savior God to find.
Yea, Lord, Thy servants meet Thee,
E’en now, in every place
Where Thy true Word hath promised
That they should see Thy face.
Thou yet wilt gladly grant us,
Who gather round Thee here,
In faith’s strong arms to bear Thee,
As did that aged seer.
Be Thou our Joy, our Brightness,
That shines mid pain and loss,
Our Sun in times of terror,
The Glory round our cross;
A Glow in sinking spirits,
A Sunbeam in distress,
Physician, Friend, in sickness;
In death, our Happiness.
Let us, O Lord, be faithful
Like Simeon to the end,
So that his dying anthem
May from our hearts ascend:
“O Lord, now let Thy servant
Depart in peace, I pray,
Since I have seen my Savior,
Have here beheld His day.”
My Savior, I behold Thee
Now with the eye of faith;
No foe of Thee can rob me,
Though bitter words he saith.
Within Thy heart abiding,
As Thou dost dwell in me,
No pain, no death, has terrors
To part my soul from Thee.
Lord, here on earth Thou seemest
At times to frown on me,
And through my tears I often
Can scarce distinguish Thee;
But in the heavenly mansions
Shall nothing dim my sight,
And I shall see forever
Thine always glorious light.
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 m (G), on the word “Light”, 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 and the chromatic fe se. 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
Johann Franck wrote these words in German. Catherine Winkworth's translation was printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 190.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to GREENLAND; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Johann Franck (1618–1677)
- Translated: Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Music: Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806)
- Arranged (National Psalmody, 1819): B. Jacob (died undefined)
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by Johann Franck (1618–1677); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878).
Sung to the same tune: How Blest, Amid All Blessing, O God of Our Salvation, Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure, The Heavens Declare His Glory, The Morning Light Is Breaking, We Come with Joy and Gladness, When Shall the Voice of Singing.
Questions about Light of the Gentile Nations
What is the doh of Light of the Gentile Nations?
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 Light of the Gentile Nations start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Light” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Light of the Gentile Nations in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Franck died in 1677, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878, Johann Michael Haydn died in 1806, B. Jacob died in undefined; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1819. 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.