O Living Bread from Heaven in Tonic Solfa
O Living Bread from Heaven in Tonic Solfa to EWING, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dO- | rliv--ding-fBread-mfrom- | rhea----dven,-mHow- |
| shast-d'Thou-tfed-seThy- | lguest!-----lThe- |
| sgifts-mThou-mnow-rhast- | dgiv----ren-mHave- |
| mfilled-mmy-rheart-dwith- | rrest.-----rO- |
| fwon--mdrous-lFood-tof- | d'bless----r'ing!-sO- |
| m'Cup--m'thatr'heals-d'our- | twoes!-----lMy- |
| sheart,-mthis-mgift-rpos-- | dsess----ring,-mIn- |
| mthank--mful-rsong--do’er- | dflows.----- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (C)
- Range
- d to m' (C to E, a tenth)
- Tune
- EWING
- Music
- Alexander C. Ewing
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EWING by Alexander C. Ewing (1830–1895); words by Johann Rist (1607–1667); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). 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
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 living Bread from heaven,
How hast Thou fed Thy guest!
The gifts Thou now hast given
Have filled my heart with rest.
O wondrous Food of blessing!
O Cup that heals our woes!
My heart, this gift possessing,
In thankful song o’erflows.
My Lord, Thou here hast led me
Within Thy holiest place
And there Thyself hast fed me
With treasures of Thy grace;
And Thou hast freely given
What earth could never buy,
The Bread of life from heaven,
That now I shall not die.
Thou givest all I wanted.
The food can death destroy,
And Thou hast freely granted
The cup of endless joy.
Ah, Lord, I do not merit
The favor Thou hast shown,
And all my soul and spirit
Bow down before Thy throne.
Lord, grant me that, thus strengthened
With heavenly food, while here
My course on earth is lengthened,
I serve with holy fear;
And when Thou call’st my spirit
To leave this world below,
I enter, through Thy merit,
Where joys unmingled flow.
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 d (C), 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 se. 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
Johann Rist wrote these words in German. Catherine Winkworth's translation was printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 435.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to EWING; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Johann Rist (1607–1667)
- Translated: Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
- Music (1853): Alexander C. Ewing (1830–1895)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EWING by Alexander C. Ewing (1830–1895); words by Johann Rist (1607–1667); translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: "Remember Thy Creator", Hail to the Lord's Anointed, Jerusalem the Golden, Let Me Be Thine Forever, O Word of God Incarnate, Our Father — Ever Living, The Joy of Earth Is Fleeting.
Questions about O Living Bread from Heaven
What is the doh of O Living Bread from Heaven?
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 Living Bread from Heaven start on?
It starts on d (C in C major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is O Living Bread from Heaven in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Rist died in 1667, Catherine Winkworth died in 1878, Alexander C. Ewing died in 1895; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1853. 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.