O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth in Tonic Solfa
O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth in Tonic Solfa to MERIBAH, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dO,--- | mcould--mwemspeak-rthe-mmatch--fless- | sworth,-------mO,--- |
| lcould--lwelsound-sthe-fglo--mries- | rforth,-------sWhich--- |
| tin-lour-sSa----feviour--- | sshine,-------sWe'd--- |
| d'soar,-sand-stouch-mthe-fheav--lenly- | sstrings,-------sAnd--- |
| d'vie-swith-sGa--mbriel,-fwhile-lhe- | ssings,-------dIn--- |
| rnotes-fal--mmost---rdi---- | dvine.------- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- MERIBAH
- Words
- Samuel Medley
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Samuel Medley (1738–1799). 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 · 3/2
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
O, could we speak the matchless worth,
O, could we sound the glories forth,
Which in our Saviour shine,
We'd soar, and touch the heavenly strings,
And vie with Gabriel, while he sings,
In notes almost divine.
We'd sing the characters he bears,
And all the forms of love he wears,
Exalted on his throne:
In loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
We would, to everlasting days,
Make all his glories known.
O, the delightful day will come,
When Christ our Lord will bring us home
And we shall see his face;
Then, with our Saviour, Brother, Friend,
A blest eternity we'll spend,
Triumphant in his grace.
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 d (E♭), on the word “O”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/2 means three minim 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
Samuel Medley wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 240 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Excellency of Christ”.
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 MERIBAH; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Samuel Medley (1738–1799)
- Music (1839): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Samuel Medley (1738–1799).
Sung to the same tune: At Early Dawn, with Pious Thought, Be It My Only Wisdom Here, Blinded in Youth by Satan's Arts, But We from Such Assaults Are Freed, Except the Lord Conduct the Plan, How Happy, Gracious Lord! Are We, If Solid Happiness We Prize, Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art, Lord, Thou Hast Won, at Length I Yield, May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfil, O God of Life, in Whom We Live, O Lord! How Happy Should We Be, O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art, The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come, Thou God of Glorious Majesty, When, Lord, to This Our Western Land.
Questions about O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth
What is the doh of O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth?
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 O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth in the public domain?
Yes. Samuel Medley died in 1799, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1839. 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.