O Son of God, on Thee We Call in Tonic Solfa
O Son of God, on Thee We Call in Tonic Solfa to HOLY MATRIMONY, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,O- | dSon--dofmGod,-don- | rThee-rwe-mcall,-l,Blest- |
| l,Je--l,su,-s,ere-dthe- | t,dark--dness-rfall,-rCome- |
| rnear-dus-t,in-l,Thy- | s,grace;-----s,We- |
| t,own--dthersins-fthat- | mmar-dour-rlife,-l,And- |
| t,stem--rourfef--mforts- | din-mthe-rstrife,-fAnd- |
| mshamed-l,we-t,hide-t,our- | dface.----- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (D)
- Range
- s, to f (D to C, a seventh)
- Tune
- HOLY MATRIMONY
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Henry Williams Baker
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HOLY MATRIMONY by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O Son of God, on Thee we call,
Blest Jesu, ere the darkness fall,
Come near us in Thy grace;
We own the sins that mar our life,
And stem our efforts in the strife,
And shamed we hide our face.
The morning came, and hope was clear,
And void the soul of doubt and fear;
But ere the noontide shone,
The light was darkened in the sky,
For thickest clouds came rolling nigh,
And all our peace was gone.
And now the night is bringing dread,
For guilt is resting on our head; —
O Christ, our prayers hear,
Who bore our sorrows on the Cross,
Who paid for us our priceless loss, —
And come in mercy near.
Give us to know Thy strength is given
To all who tread the path to heaven —
That we may fail to gain,
And fall to rise, and forward press
In light and dark, in storm and stress
Of fear and doubt and pain.
Give us to know Thy mercies wait
On those who knock at heaven's gate,
That none can knock in vain;
For He who died for sinful men
Would have them come, and come again,
Nor fainting e'er refrain.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 s, (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
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns from the Greek Office Books (Paisley, 1904).
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Common Particular Metre (8.8.6.8.8.6), and this page sets them to HOLY MATRIMONY; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1904): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1865): Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune HOLY MATRIMONY by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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: Author of Faith, to Thee I Cry, Come, Wisdom, Power, and Grace Divine, Hail, Love Divine! Joys Ever New, He Came to Earth Who Came from God, How Blest the Hearts, How Happy Are the Little Flock, How Happy Is the Pilgrim's Lot, Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray, O Glorious Hope of Perfect Love, O Jesus, Lover of Our Race, O Saviour, Cast a Gracious Smile, O Thou Who Hast Our Sorrows Borne, Safe in the Comfort of Thy Grace, Soft Are the Fruitful Showers That Bring, Still Lord, I Languish for Thy Grace, Thee, Jesu, Thee, the Sinner's Friend, Thou Great Mysterious God Unknown, To Thee My Soul Enraptured Sings, Where’er I Go, Whate’er My Task.
Questions about O Son of God, on Thee We Call
What is the doh of O Son of God, on Thee We Call?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Son of God, on Thee We Call start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is O Son of God, on Thee We Call in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Henry Williams Baker died in 1877; the words were in print by 1904 and the music in 1865. 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.