O Holy, Blessed Trinity in Tonic Solfa
O Holy, Blessed Trinity in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- O HEILIGE DREIFALTIGKEIT
- Words
- Martin Behm, Conrad Herman Louis Schuette
- Music
- Nikolaus Hermann
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune O HEILIGE DREIFALTIGKEIT by Nikolaus Hermann (1500–1561); words by Martin Behm (1557–1622); translated by Conrad Herman Louis Schuette (1843–1926). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dO- | mHo--fly,-sBless--sed- | lTrin--li--sty,--- |
| __sDi--svine,-d'Es-- | tsen--stial-lU--lni-- |
| sty,-----sGod- | d'Fa--tther,-lSon,-sand- |
| lHo--fly-mGhost,--- | __mBe-lThou-lthis- |
| sday-mmy-fGuide-rand- | dHost.----- |
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 WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is D · 4/4
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
O Holy, Blessed Trinity,
Divine, Essential Unity,
God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Be Thou this day my Guide and Host.
My soul and body keep from harm,
O'er all I have extend Thine arm,
That Satan may not cause distress
Nor bring me shame or wretchedness.
The Father's might shield me this day,
The Son's pure wisdom cheer my way,
The Holy Spirit's light divine
Illume my heart's benighted shrine.
My Maker, strengthen Thou my heart,
O my Redeemer, help impart,
Blest Comforter, keep at my side
That faith and love in me abide.
Lord, bless and keep Thou me as Thine;
Lord, make Thy face upon me shine;
Lord, lift Thy countenance on me
And give me peace—sweet peace, from Thee.
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 d (D), 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. 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
The words are by Martin Behm, first published in 1608. The English translation is by Conrad Herman Louis Schuette (1880). The tune, O HEILIGE DREIFALTIGKEIT, is by Nikolaus Hermann (1558). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1608): Martin Behm (1557–1622)
- Translated (1880): Conrad Herman Louis Schuette (1843–1926)
- Music (1558): Nikolaus Hermann (1500–1561)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune O HEILIGE DREIFALTIGKEIT by Nikolaus Hermann (1500–1561); words by Martin Behm (1557–1622); translated by Conrad Herman Louis Schuette (1843–1926). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Questions about O Holy, Blessed Trinity
What is the doh of O Holy, Blessed Trinity?
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 O Holy, Blessed Trinity start on?
It starts on d (D in D major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is O Holy, Blessed Trinity in the public domain?
Yes. Martin Behm died in 1622, Conrad Herman Louis Schuette died in 1926, Nikolaus Hermann died in 1561; the words were first published in 1880 and the music in 1558. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.