O Lord, Our Heavenly King in Tonic Solfa
O Lord, Our Heavenly King in Tonic Solfa to ST. BRIDE, doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| l,O- | m,Lord,-l,our-dheav--t,enly- | l,King,-----dThy- |
| s,name-dis-mall-rdi-- | dvine;-----mThy- |
| rglo--dries-t,round-l,the- | s,earth-f,are-m,spread,-mAnd- |
| l,o'er-rthe-dheavens-t,they- | l,shine.----- |
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- Key
- G minor
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (G)
- Range
- m, to m (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ST. BRIDE
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Music
- Samuel Howard
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O Lord, our heavenly King,
Thy name is all divine;
Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heavens they shine.
When to thy works on high
I raise my wondering eyes,
And see the moon complete in light
Adorn the darksome skies:
When I survey the stars,
And all their shining forms,
Lord, what is man, that worthless thing,
Akin to dust and worms?
Lord, what is worthless man,
That thou shouldst love him so?
Next to thine angels he is plac'd,
And lord of all below.
Thine honours crown his head,
While beasts like slaves obey,
And birds that cut the air with wings,
And fish that cleave the sea.
How rich thy bounties are!
And wondrous are thy ways:
Of dust and worms thy power can frame
A monument of praise.
Out of the mouths of babes
And sucklings thou canst draw
Surprising honours to thy name,
And strike the world with awe.
O Lord, our heavenly King,
Thy name is all divine:
Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heavens they shine.
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 l, (G), 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
Isaac Watts wrote these words for The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719): Psalm 8, part 1, headed “God's sovereignty and goodness; and man's dominion over the creatures”.
Watts' psalms were printed without tunes and sung to any tune of their metre, Short Metre (6.6.8.6). This page sets the words to ST. BRIDE; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words (1719): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1762): Samuel Howard (died undefined)
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748).
Sung to the same tune: All Hail, Life-bearing Cross, Behold What Wondrous Grace, Exalt the Lord Our God, Here, in This Place of Prayer, How Blest the Righteous Are, In Weariness and Pain, Let God the Maker's Name, Let Party Names No More, Let Sinners Take Their Course, Lord What a Feeble Piece, My Saviour and My King, My Soul, Repeat His Praise, Not with Our Mortal Eyes, Now Let Our Voices Join, O Blessed Souls Are They, One Sweetly Solemn Thought, Out of the Deep I Call, Raise Your Triumphant Songs, Servants of Christ, Arise, Teach Me, My God and King, The Man Is Ever Blest, The Saviour Gently Calls, The Spirit, in Our Hearts, Thy Love Hath Sweetened Me, We Love This Outward World, When Man Grows Bold in Sin, Where Shall the Man Be Found, Who Has Believ'd Thy Word, Ye Servants of the Lord.
Questions about O Lord, Our Heavenly King
What is the doh of O Lord, Our Heavenly King?
In this version, in G minor, 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 Lord, Our Heavenly King start on?
It starts on l, (G in G minor), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is O Lord, Our Heavenly King in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, Samuel Howard died in undefined; the words were first published in 1719 and the music in 1762. 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.