Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray in Tonic Solfa
Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray in Tonic Solfa to HOLY MATRIMONY, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,Lord- | dof--dthemChurch,-dwe- | rhum--rbly-mpray-l,For- |
| l,those-l,who-s,guide-dus- | t,in-dThy-rway-rAnd- |
| rspeak-dThy-t,ho--l,ly- | s,Word;-----s,With- |
| t,love--ddi-rvine-ftheir- | mhearts-din--rspire-l,And- |
| t,touch--rtheirflips-mwith- | dhal--mlowed-rfire-fAnd- |
| mneed--l,ful-t,strength-t,af-- | dford.----- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (D)
- Range
- s, to f (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- HOLY MATRIMONY
- Words
- Edward Osler
- Music
- Henry Williams Baker
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HOLY MATRIMONY by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877); words by Edward Osler (1798–1863). 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Lord of the Church, we humbly pray
For those who guide us in Thy way
And speak Thy holy Word;
With love divine their hearts inspire
And touch their lips with hallowed fire
And needful strength afford.
Help them to preach the Truth of God,
Redemption through the Savior’s blood,
Nor let the Spirit cease
On all the Church His gifts to shower,—
To them a messenger of power;
To us, of life and peace.
So may they live to Thee alone;
Then hear the welcome word, “Well done!”
And take their crown above;
Enter into their Master’s joy
And all eternity employ
In praise and bliss and love.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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, (D), on the word “Lord”, 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
Edward Osler wrote these words. They were printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 485.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Particular Metre (8.8.6.8.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to HOLY MATRIMONY; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Edward Osler (1798–1863)
- Music (1865): Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HOLY MATRIMONY by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877); words by Edward Osler (1798–1863). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune 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: Author of Faith, to Thee I Cry, Come, Wisdom, Power, and Grace Divine, Hail, Love Divine! Joys Ever New, He Came to Earth Who Came from God, How Blest the Hearts, How Happy Are the Little Flock, How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot, O Glorious Hope of Perfect Love, O Jesus, Lover of Our Race, O Saviour, Cast a Gracious Smile, O Son of God, on Thee We Call, O Thou Who Hast Our Sorrows Borne, Safe in the Comfort of Thy Grace, Soft Are the Fruitful Showers That Bring, Still Lord, I Languish for Thy Grace, Thee, Jesu, Thee, the Sinner's Friend, Thou Great Mysterious God Unknown, To Thee My Soul Enraptured Sings, Where’er I Go, Whate’er My Task.
Questions about Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray
What is the doh of Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major), a pickup on the word “Lord” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray in the public domain?
Yes. Edward Osler died in 1863, Henry Williams Baker died in 1877; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1865. 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.