O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word in Tonic Solfa

O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

sO-

sThou,--mwhomdidst-sor--

sdain--rtherWord,-mAnd-

fits-sstrong-lher--talds-

ssend,-----sWe-

sdraw--mthemho--sly-

sveil--rofrprayer,-r'And-

de'in-r'thy-m'pre--lsence-

r'bend.-----sTo-

m'this--m'youngr'war--d'rior-

d'of--tthetcross,-d'Who-

r'takes-this-lsta--stion-

d'here,-----d'Be-

d'thou--laltea--d'cher-

d'and--sasguide,-sAnd-

lbe-d'thy-sSpir--r'it-

d'near.-----

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Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (G)
Range: r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
Tune: MATERNA
Words: Edwin Hubbell Chapin
Music: Samuel A. Ward

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880). 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

| s - O| s - - m m - s - Thou, who didst or-| s - - r r - m - |dain the Word, And

| f - s - l - t - its strong heralds| s - - - - - s - |send, We

| s - - m m - s - draw the holy| s - - r r - r' - |veil of prayer, And

| de' - r' - m' - l - in thy presence| r' - - - - - s - |bend. To

| m' - - m' r' - d' - this young warrior| d' - - t t - d' - |of the cross, Who

| r' - t - l - s - takes his station| d' - - - - - d' - |here, Be

| d' - - l l - d' - thou a teacher| d' - - s s - s - |and a guide, And

| l - d' - s - r' - be thy Spirit| d' - - - - - |near.

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 Thou, who didst ordain the Word,
And its strong heralds send,
We draw the holy veil of prayer,
And in thy presence bend.
To this young warrior of the cross,
Who takes his station here,
Be thou a teacher and a guide,
And be thy Spirit near.

A pure disciple, let him tread
The ways his Master trod —
Giving the weary spirits rest,
Leading the lost to God —
Stooping to lend the sufferer aid,
Crushed sorrow's wail to hear,
To bind the widow's broken heart,
And dry the orphan's tear.

For war with error, make him strong,
And sin, the soul's dark foe —
But let him humbly seek for truth,
Where'er its waters flow.
And when, O Father, at the grave
He lays his armor down,
Give him the victor's glistening robe,
The palm-wreath and the crown.

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 s (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 and the chromatic de. 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

Edwin Hubbell Chapin wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 710 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Ordination Hymn”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880)
Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880).

Sung to the same tune: And Let This Feeble Body Fail, Behold, the King of Zion Rides, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, My Shepherd Is the Lord on High, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O God, That Madest Earth and Sky, The Earth, All Light and Loveliness, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.

Questions about O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word

What is the doh of O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word?

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 Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word start on?

It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word in the public domain?

Yes. Edwin Hubbell Chapin died in 1880, Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1882. 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.