O Holy Spirit, Enter in in Tonic Solfa
O Holy Spirit, Enter in in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 8 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET
- Words
- Michael Schirmer, Catherine Winkworth
- Music
- Phillipp Nicolai
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET by Phillipp Nicolai (1556–1608); words by Michael Schirmer (1606–1673); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dO--- | sHo----mly--- | dSpir----sit,--- |
| len--lter-sin,--- | __sAnd-lin-tour- |
| d'hearts-tThy-lwork-lbe-- | sgin---__sThy- |
| lTem----sple--- | fdeign-mto-rmake--- |
| dus;------- | ____dSun--- |
| sof---mthe--- | dsoul,---sThou--- |
| lLight-ldi--svine,--- | __sA--lround-tand- |
| d'in-tus-lbright--lly- | sshine,---__sTo- |
| ljoy---sand--- | fglad--mness-rwake--- |
| dus.------- | sThat---mwe--- |
| sto---mThee--- | mTru--mly-rliv--ring,- |
| mTo-mThee-rgiv--ring- | mPrayer-mun--rceas--ding- |
| d'May---sin--- | llove---sbe--- |
| fstill-min--rcreas---- | ding.------- |
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 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 Holy Spirit, enter in,
And in our hearts Thy work begin
Thy Temple deign to make us;
Sun of the soul, Thou Light divine,
Around and in us brightly shine,
To joy and gladness wake us.
That we to Thee
Truly living, To Thee giving
Prayer unceasing
May in love be still increasing.
Give to Thy Word impressive pow'r
That in our hearts, from this good hour,
As fire it may be glowing;
That we confess the Father, Son,
And Thee, the Spirit, Three in One,
Thy glory ever showing.
Stay Thou, guide now
Our souls ever that they never
May forsake Thee.
But by faith their refuge make Thee.
Thou fountain whence all wisdom flows
Which God on pious hearts bestows,
Grant us Thy consolation.
That in our pure faith's unity
We faithful witnesses may be
Of grace that brings salvation.
Hear us, cheer us,
By Thy teaching; let our preaching,
And our labor
Praise Thee, Lord, and serve our neighbor.
Left to ourselves, we shall but stray;
O lead us on the narrow way,
With wisest counsel guide us;
And give us steadfastness, that we
May ever faithful prove to Thee,
Whatever woes betide us;
Lord now Heal Thou
All hearts broken, And betoken
Thou art near us,
Whom we trust to light and cheer us.
Thy heav'nly strength sustain our heart
That we may act the valiant part
With Thee as our Reliance;
Be Thou our Refuge and our Shield
That we may never quit the field,
But stand in bold defiance.
Descend, defend
From all errors And earth's terrors
Thy salvation
Be our constant consolation.
O mighty Rock, O Source of life,
Let Thy dear Word 'mid doubt and strife
Be so within us burning,
That we be faithful unto death,
In Thy pure love and holy faith,
From Thee true wisdom learning!
Thy grace And peace
On us shower; By Thy power
Christ confessing,
Let us win our Savior's blessing.
O gentle Dew, from Heav'n now fall
With pow'r upon the hearts of all,
Thy tender love instilling,
That heart to heart more closely bound,
Fruitful in kindly deeds be found,
The law of love fulfilling;
The Lord, Discord
Shall not grieve Thee; We recieve Thee;
Where Thou livest.
Peace, and love, and joy Thou givest.
Grant that our days, while life shall last,
In purest holiness be passed,
Be Thou our Strength forever;
Grant that our hearts henceforth be free
From sinful lust and vanity
Which us from Thee must sever.
Keep Thou pure Now
From offenses Heart and senses.
Blessed Spirit!
Let us heavenly life inherit.
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 d (E♭), 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 Michael Schirmer, first published in 1650. The English translation is by Catherine Winkworth (1863). The tune, WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET, is by Phillipp Nicolai (1599). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1650): Michael Schirmer (1606–1673)
- Translated (1863): Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Music (1599): Phillipp Nicolai (1556–1608)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET by Phillipp Nicolai (1556–1608); words by Michael Schirmer (1606–1673); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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 Spirit, Enter in
What is the doh of O Holy Spirit, Enter in?
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 Holy Spirit, Enter in start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb 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 Spirit, Enter in in the public domain?
Yes. Michael Schirmer died in 1673, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878, Phillipp Nicolai died in 1608; the words were first published in 1863 and the music in 1599. 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.