Lord of the Worlds Above in Tonic Solfa
Lord of the Worlds Above in Tonic Solfa to DARWALL, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dLord- | mof-dthe-sworlds-ma-- | d'bove,-----tHow- |
| lplea--ssant-fand-mhow- | rfair-----rThe- |
| mdwel--dlings-lof-sthy- | felove,-rThine-r'earth--d'ly- |
| ttem----lples,--- | sare!-----sTo- |
| lthine---ta---- | d'bode-----dmy- |
| rheart-mas--fpires,-sWith- | lwarm-tde--d'sires-r'to- |
| d'see---tmy--- | d'God.----- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to r' (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- DARWALL
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Music
- John Darwall
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DARWALL by John Darwall (1731–1789); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 D · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Lord of the worlds above,
How pleasant and how fair
The dwellings of thy love,
Thine earthly temples, are!
To thine abode my heart aspires,
With warm desires to see my God.
O happy souls that pray
Where God appoints to hear!
O happy men that pay
Their constant service there!
They praise thee still; and happy they
Who love the way to Zion's hill.
They go from strength to strength,
Throughout these mortal years,
Till each arrives at length,
Till each in heaven appears:
O glorious seat, when God, our King,
Shall thither bring our willing feet!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 d (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 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
Isaac Watts wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 21 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Delight in Public Worship”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Hallelujah Metre (6.6.6.6.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to DARWALL; any other Hallelujah Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1770): John Darwall (1731–1789)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DARWALL by John Darwall (1731–1789); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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: A Worldling Spent Each Day, All, from the Sun's Uprise, Amazing, Beauteous Change, Before Elisha's Gate, Encouraged by Thy Word, Hark! What Celestial Notes, I Have No Tears to Shed, Israel in Ancient Days, On What Has Now Been Sown, Rejoice, the Lord Is King, Thou Fount of Love and Grace, To Thee, Our God, We Fly, Ye Realms Below the Skies, Young Men and Maidens, Raise.
Questions about Lord of the Worlds Above
What is the doh of Lord of the Worlds Above?
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Worlds Above start on?
It starts on d (D in D major), a pickup on the word “Lord” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Lord of the Worlds Above in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, John Darwall died in 1789; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1770. 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.