O God, Thy Grace Impart in Tonic Solfa

O God, Thy Grace Impart in Tonic Solfa to MALVERN (GWYLLT), doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is Bb2/4
s,O---m,God,-s,thy-dgrace-rim--dpart!---
dRe----l,vive-dmy-rfaint--ming-rheart;---
dMy---t,zeal-l,in--s,spire;---mRe----
mveal-rthy--dself-t,to-l,me,---rAnd---
rmay-dmy-t,love-l,to-s,thee---s,Pure,---
l,warm,-t,and-dchange--rless-mbe,---fA---
mliv--ring-dfire.---

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Key
Bb major
Doh
Bb
Time
2/4
Starts on
s, (F)
Range
m, to f (D to E♭, a ninth)
Tune
MALVERN (GWYLLT)
Words
Ray Palmer
Music
The Hallelujah, John Roberts

Tune MALVERN (GWYLLT) by John Roberts (1822–1877); words by Ray Palmer (1808–1887). 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 Bb · 2/4

| s, - - - O| m, - s, - God, thy| d - r - grace im-| d - - - |part!
| d - - - Re-| l, - d - vive my| r - m - fainting| r - - - |heart;
| d - - - My| t, - l, - zeal in-| s, - - - spire;| m - - - |Re-
| m - r - veal thy-| d - t, - self to| l, - - - me,| r - - - |And
| r - d - may my| t, - l, - love to| s, - - - thee| s, - - - |Pure,
| l, - t, - warm, and| d - r - changeless| m - - - be,| f - - - |A
| m - r - living| d - - - |fire.

Staff notation

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

The words

O God, thy grace impart!
Revive my fainting heart;
My zeal inspire;
Reveal thyself to me,
And may my love to thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be, —
A living fire.

While life's dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow's tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From thee aside.

When ends life's transient dream,
When death's cold sullen stream
Shall o'er me roll,
O Father, then in love,
Fear and distress remove,
And bear me safe above, —
A ransomed soul.

How to sing it from the solfa

  • Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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, (F).
  • Count the time. 2/4 means two 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. 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

Ray Palmer wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 335 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “For Divine Guidance”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sixes and Fours (6.6.4.6.6.6.4), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MALVERN (GWYLLT); any other Sixes and Fours tune fits them as well.

Tune MALVERN (GWYLLT) by John Roberts (1822–1877); words by Ray Palmer (1808–1887).

Sung to the same tune: Raise the Adoring Song, The God of Harvest Praise.

Questions about O God, Thy Grace Impart

What is the doh of O God, Thy Grace Impart?

In this version, in Bb major, doh is Bb. 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, Thy Grace Impart start on?

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

Is O God, Thy Grace Impart in the public domain?

Yes. Ray Palmer died in 1887, John Roberts died in 1877; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1849. 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.

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Everything by John Roberts (3 hymns and 2 hymn tunes)