Lo, God to Heav'n Ascendeth in Tonic Solfa
Lo, God to Heav'n Ascendeth in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (C)
- Range
- t, to l (E to D, a seventh)
- Tune
- VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LAZEN
- Words
- Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, Frances Elizabeth Cox
- Music
- Johann Crüger
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LAZEN by Johann Crüger (1598–1662); words by Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer (1635–1699); translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812–1897). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sLo,- | lGod--stofHeav'n-mas-- | rcen----rdeth!-_mThrough- |
| fout-mits-rre---mgions | dvast---__sWith- |
| lshouts--stri-fum--mphant- | rblend----reth-_mthe |
| ftrum--mpet's-rthrill---ming | dblast:---__mSing- |
| mpraise-mto-rChrist-dthe- | t,Lord;-----msing- |
| mpraise--rwithmex--ful-- | sta----mtion,-_dKing |
| mof--reachmhea--fthen- | sna----mtion,-_mthe |
| rGod-dof-dHosts-t,a-- | ddored!----- |
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 F · 4/4
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
Lo, God to Heav'n ascendeth!
Throughout its regions vast
With shouts triumphant blendeth
the trumpet's thrilling blast:
Sing praise to Christ the Lord;
sing praise with exultation,
King of each heathen nation,
the God of Hosts adored!
With joy is Heav'n resounding
Christ's glad return to see;
Behold the saints surrounding
the Lord who set them free.
Bright myriads, thronging, come;
the cherub band rejoices,
And loud seraphic voices
Welcome Messiah home.
No more the way is hidden,
Since Christ our Head arose:
No more to man forbidden
The road to Heav'n that goes.
Our Lord is gone before;
yet here He will not leave us,
And soon in Heav'n receive us
and open wide the door.
Christ is our place preparing;
to Heav'n we, too, shall rise,
And, joys angelic sharing,
Be where our treasure lies:
There may each heart be found!
Where Jesus Christ has entered,
There let our Hope be centered;
Our course still heav'nward bound.
May we, His servants, thither
In heart and mind ascend,
And let us sing together:
"We seek Thee, Christ, our friend,
Thee, God's exalted Son,
our Life, and Way to Heaven,
To whom all pow'r is given,
our Joy and Hope and Crown."
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 s (C), on the word “Lo”, 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
The words are by Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, first published in 1661. The English translation is by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1841). The tune, VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LAZEN, is by Johann Crüger (1640). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1661): Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer (1635–1699)
- Translated (1841): Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812–1897)
- Music (1640): Johann Crüger (1598–1662)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune VON GOTT WILL ICH NICHT LAZEN by Johann Crüger (1598–1662); words by Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer (1635–1699); translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812–1897). 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.
Questions about Lo, God to Heav'n Ascendeth
What is the doh of Lo, God to Heav'n Ascendeth?
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 Lo, God to Heav'n Ascendeth start on?
It starts on s (C in F major), a pickup on the word “Lo” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Lo, God to Heav'n Ascendeth in the public domain?
Yes. Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer died in 1699, Frances Elizabeth Cox died in 1897, Johann Crüger died in 1662; the words were first published in 1841 and the music in 1640. 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.