O God, That Madest Earth and Sky in Tonic Solfa

O God, That Madest Earth and Sky in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

sO-

sGod,--mthatmma--sdest-

searth--randrsky!-mThe-

fdark--sness-land-tthe-

sday!-----sGive-

sear--mtomthis-sthy-

sfa---rmi-rly,-r'And-

de'help-r'us-m'when-lwe-

r'pray!-----sFor-

m'wide--m'ther'waves-d'of-

d'bit---tter-tness-d'A--

r'round-tour-lves--ssel-

d'roar,-----d'And-

d'hea---lvylgrows-d'the-

d'pi---slot'ssheart-sTo-

lview-d'the-sroc--r'ky-

d'shore!-----

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Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (G)
Range: r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
Tune: MATERNA
Words: Reginald Heber
Music: Samuel A. Ward

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826). 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 C · 4/4

| s - O| s - - m m - s - God, that madest| s - - r r - m - |earth and sky! The

| f - s - l - t - darkness and the| s - - - - - s - |day! Give

| s - - m m - s - ear to this thy| s - - r r - r' - |family, And

| de' - r' - m' - l - help us when we| r' - - - - - s - |pray! For

| m' - - m' r' - d' - wide the waves of| d' - - t t - d' - |bitterness A-

| r' - t - l - s - round our vessel| d' - - - - - d' - |roar, And

| d' - - l l - d' - heavy grows the| d' - - s s - s - |pilot's heart To

| l - d' - s - r' - view the rocky| d' - - - - - |shore!

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

O God, that madest earth and sky!
The darkness and the day!
Give ear to this thy family,
And help us when we pray!
For wide the waves of bitterness
Around our vessel roar,
And heavy grows the pilot's heart
To view the rocky shore!

The cross our Master bore for us,
For him we fain would bear,
But mortal strength to weakness turns,
And courage to despair!
Then mercy on our failings, Lord!
Our sinking faith renew!
And when thy sorrows visit us,
O send thy patience too.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (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 de. 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

Reginald Heber wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 931 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “In Times of Domestic Distress”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Reginald Heber (1783–1826)
Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826).

Sung to the same tune: And Let This Feeble Body Fail, Behold, the King of Zion Rides, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, My Shepherd Is the Lord on High, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word, The Earth, All Light and Loveliness, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.

Questions about O God, That Madest Earth and Sky

What is the doh of O God, That Madest Earth and Sky?

In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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, That Madest Earth and Sky start on?

It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is O God, That Madest Earth and Sky in the public domain?

Yes. Reginald Heber died in 1826, Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1882. 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.