O Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair in Tonic Solfa
O Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- C# minor
- Doh
- E
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- l (C♯)
- Range
- l, to l (C♯ to C♯, an octave)
- Tune
- DEO GRACIAS
- Words
- Traditional Latin, John Mason Neale
- Music
- Traditional English
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DEO GRACIAS (traditional English); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Mason Neale (1818–1866). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| lO- | lwon----sdrous- | ltype!---sO- | svi--fsion--- | mfair---lOf- |
| lglo--s_-mry- | rthat-m_-rthel,_ | dChurch-t,may--- | l,share,---mWhich- |
| sChrist---sup-- | lon-s_-fthe- | mmoun--rtain--- | dshows,---dwhere- |
| mbright----mer- | rthan---dthe- | dsun-t,He--- | l,glows!--- |
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 E · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C# minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O wondrous type! O vision fair
Of glory that the Church may share,
Which Christ upon the mountain shows,
where brighter than the sun He glows!
From age to age the tale declare,
How with the three disciples there,
Where Moses and Elijah meet,
The Lord holds converse high and sweet.
The law and prophets there have place,
Two chosen witnesses of grace;
The Father's voice from out the cloud
proclaims His only Son aloud.
With shining face and bright array,
Christ deigns to manifest today
What glory shall be theirs above
who joy in God with perfect love.
And faithful hearts are raised on high
by this great vision's mystery;
For which in joyful strains we raise
the voice of prayer, the hymn of praise.
D O Father, with th'Eternal Son,
and Holy Spirit, ever One,
Vouchsafe to bring us by Thy grace
to see Thy glory face to face.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum E 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 (C♯), on the word “O”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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 anonymous, in print by 1495. The English translation is by John Mason Neale (1851). The tune, DEO GRACIAS, is Traditional English. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1495): Traditional Latin
- Translated (1851): John Mason Neale (1818–1866)
- Melody (1415): Traditional English
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DEO GRACIAS (traditional English); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Mason Neale (1818–1866). 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.
Sung to the same tune: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High.
Questions about O Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair
What is the doh of O Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair?
In this version, in C# minor, doh is E. 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 Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair start on?
It starts on l (C♯ in C# minor), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l.
Is O Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair in the public domain?
Yes. John Mason Neale died in 1866; the words were first published in 1851 and the music in 1415. 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.