O God of Our Salvation in Tonic Solfa
O God of Our Salvation in Tonic Solfa to GREENLAND, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mO- | sGod-sof-sour-ssal-- | d'va----mtion,-mWho- |
| rin-rThy-fglo--frious- | mmight,-----rDidst- |
| mspeak,-sand-sall-scre-- | d'a----fetion-feA-- |
| srose-lfrom-tbrood--ling- | snight;-----tAnd- |
| d'cha--sos,-fand-mcon-- | mfu----rsion,-tTo- |
| d'form-sand-for--mder- | rsped,-----s,While- |
| dlo!-min-srich--sepro- | tfu----lsion-lThe- |
| searth-mits-mbeau---rty | dspread.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- s, to d' (B♭ to E♭)
- Tune
- GREENLAND
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Johann Michael Haydn, B. Jacob
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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 · 4/4
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 God of our salvation,
Who in Thy glorious might,
Didst speak, and all creation
Arose from brooding night;
And chaos, and confusion,
To form and order sped,
While lo! in rich profusion
The earth its beauty spread.
O God of our salvation,
Thy word hath still its power,
And souls in desolation
Are lying at this hour;
Speak as of old, and banish
The chaos and the night,
And bid their sorrows vanish
Before Thy glorious light.
O God of our salvation,
Thy Word our Flesh became;
To free from condemnation
He bore our human name,
And spoke to us confiding
Of all the Father willed;
And we, with Him abiding,
Are with His fulness filled.
O God of our salvation,
Thou, Christ, in mercy come,
And make Thy new creation
Thine everlasting home;
And in our hearts abiding,
And in Thy Church adored,
Still speak the word confiding,
O Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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 m (G), on the word “O”, 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 se. 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
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns from the Morningland (Paisley, 1911).
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), and this page sets them to GREENLAND; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1911): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music: Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806)
- Arranged (National Psalmody, 1819): B. Jacob (died undefined)
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: How Blest, Amid All Blessing, Light of the Gentile Nations, Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure, The Heavens Declare His Glory, The Morning Light Is Breaking, We Come with Joy and Gladness, When Shall the Voice of Singing.
Questions about O God of Our Salvation
What is the doh of O God of Our Salvation?
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 God of Our Salvation start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is O God of Our Salvation in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Johann Michael Haydn died in 1806, B. Jacob died in undefined; the words were in print by 1911 and the music in 1819. 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.