O Holy Father! 'Mid the Calm in Tonic Solfa
O Holy Father! 'Mid the Calm in Tonic Solfa to SWEET HOUR, doh is Db: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dO | mHo--flysFa--sther! | l'mid-tthed'calm-lAnd | sstill--mnessmofr_dthis | reve--mningrhour,-dWe |
| mwould-fliftsup-sour | lsol--temnd'psalm-lTo | spraise-mThymgood-r_dness, | mand-rThydpower-sFor |
| d'o--tverd'us,-land | so--mversall,-sThy | d'ten--tderd'mer--lcies | sstill-mex-rtend,-dNor |
| mvain--flysshall-sThy | lchild--trend'call-lOn | sThee,-mourmFa-r_dther | mand-rourdFriend!- |
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- Key
- Db major
- Doh
- Db
- Time
- 6/8
- Starts on
- d (D♭)
- Range
- d to d' (D♭ to D♭, an octave)
- Tune
- SWEET HOUR
Tune SWEET HOUR by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868); words by William Henry Burleigh (1812–1871). 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 Db · 6/8
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Db major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O Holy Father! 'mid the calm
And stillness of this evening hour,
We would lift up our solemn psalm
To praise Thy goodness, and Thy power
For over us, and over all,
Thy tender mercies still extend,
Nor vainly shall Thy children call
On Thee, our Father and our Friend!
Kept by Thy goodness though the day,
Thanksgiving to Thy name we pour;
Night o'er us, with its stars, — we pray
Thy love, to guard us evermore!
In grief, console; in gladness, bless;
In darkness, guide; in sickness, cheer;
Till, in the Saviour's righteousness,
Before Thy throne our souls appear!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Db 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. 6/8 means two dotted-crotchet beats (six quavers) 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
William Henry Burleigh wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 26, “Evening Worship”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Long Metre Double (8.8.8.8.8.8.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to SWEET HOUR; any other Long Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: William Henry Burleigh (1812–1871)
- Music (1861): William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868)
Tune SWEET HOUR by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868); words by William Henry Burleigh (1812–1871).
Sung to the same tune: Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord, Eternal, Spotless Lamb of God, How Shall We Praise Thee, Lord of Light, Jesu, My Advocate Above, Lamp of Our Feet! Whose Hallowed Beam, Sweet Hour of Prayer, The Spacious Firmament on High, Though Sore Beset with Guilt and Fear, When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise.
Questions about O Holy Father! 'Mid the Calm
What is the doh of O Holy Father! 'Mid the Calm?
In this version, in Db major, doh is Db. 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 Father! 'Mid the Calm start on?
It starts on d (D♭ in Db 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 Father! 'Mid the Calm in the public domain?
Yes. William Henry Burleigh died in 1871, William Batchelder Bradbury died in 1868; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1861. 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.