Love Divine, All Love Excelling in Tonic Solfa

Love Divine, All Love Excelling in Tonic Solfa to LUX EOI, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

sLove--sdi-d'vine,-sall-

slove-fex--fcel--mling,-

lJoy-lof-sheaven,-mto-

rearth-dcome-rdown!---

sFix--sind'us-d'Thy-

thum--lble-r'dwell--sing,-

feAll-mThy-rfaith--sful-

smer--fecies-scrown.---

fFa--fther!-mThou-mart-

lall--lcom-lpas--sesion,-

lPure,-tun--d'bound--ted-

mlove-seThou-lart;---

sVis--d'it-m'us-r'with-

d'Thy-tsal--lva--stion,-

saEn--fter-mev--lery-

dlong--ring-dheart.---

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (A)
Range: d to m' (D to F♯, a tenth)
Tune: LUX EOI
Words: Anonymous
Music: Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Tune LUX EOI by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900); 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 D · 4/4

| s - - s d' - s - Love divine, all| s - f - f - m - |love excelling,

| l - l - s - m - Joy of heaven, to| r - d - r - - - |earth come down!

| s - - s d' - d' - Fix in us Thy| t - l - r' - s - |humble dwelling,

| fe - m - r - s - All Thy faithful| s - fe - s - - - |mercies crown.

| f - f - m - m - Father! Thou art| l - - l l - se - |all compassion,

| l - t - d' - t - Pure, unbounded| m - se - l - - - |love Thou art;

| s - d' - m' - r' - Visit us with| d' - t - l - s - |Thy salvation,

| sa - f - m - l - Enter every| d - r - d - - - |longing heart.

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

Love divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down!
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Father! Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation,
Enter every longing heart.

Breathe, O, breathe Thy loving spirit
Into every troubled breast;
Let us all in Thee inherit,
Let us find Thy promised rest.
Come, almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Graciously come down, and never,
Never more Thy temples leave!

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 s (A).
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 sa. 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 8, “Love Divine”, where the book credits them to a Wesleyan source.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Eights and Sevens Double (8.7.8.7.8.7.8.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to LUX EOI; any other Eights and Sevens Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Anonymous
Music (1874): Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900)

Tune LUX EOI by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900); words by Anonymous.

Sung to the same tune: As in Solemn Congregation, Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation, Come, Thou All-inspiring Spirit, Could the Creatures Help or Ease Us, Hear What God the Lord Hath Spoken, Holy Father, Thou Hast Taught Me, In the Name Which Earth and Heaven, Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken, Legion Was My Name by Nature, Let the World Despise and Leave Me, Mighty One, Whose Name Is Holy, Peace Be to This Habitation, We Have Met in Peace Together, Westward, Lord, the World Alluring.

Questions about Love Divine, All Love Excelling

What is the doh of Love Divine, All Love Excelling?

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 Love Divine, All Love Excelling start on?

It starts on s (A in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is Love Divine, All Love Excelling in the public domain?

Yes. Arthur Seymour Sullivan died in 1900; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1874. 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.