On Thy Church, O Power Divine in Tonic Solfa

On Thy Church, O Power Divine in Tonic Solfa to RATISBON (WERNER), doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

sOn-sthy-lchurch,-tO-

d'Power-d'Di--tvine,---

lCause-d'thy-sglo--mrious-

fface-rto-dshine;---

mTill-mthe-rna--mtions-

ffrom-fa--mfar---

mHail-lher-seas-ltheir-

tgui--tding-lstar;---

d'Till-lher-ssons,-mfrom-

fzone-fto-mzone,---

lMake-lthy-sgreat-msal--

rva--rtion-dknown.---

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (A)
Range: d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune: RATISBON (WERNER)
Words: Anonymous
Music: Werner's Choralbuch, William Henry Havergal

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Anonymous. 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 D · 4/4

| s - s - l - t - On thy church, O| d' - d' - t - - - |Power Divine,

| l - d' - s - m - Cause thy glorious| f - r - d - - - |face to shine;

| m - m - r - m - Till the nations| f - f - m - - - |from afar

| m - l - se - l - Hail her as their| t - t - l - - - |guiding star;

| d' - l - s - m - Till her sons, from| f - f - m - - - |zone to zone,

| l - l - s - m - Make thy great sal-| r - r - d - - - |vation known.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

On thy church, O Power Divine,
Cause thy glorious face to shine;
Till the nations from afar
Hail her as their guiding star;
Till her sons, from zone to zone,
Make thy great salvation known.

Then shall God, with lavish hand,
Scatter blessings o'er the land;
Earth shall yield her rich increase,
Every breeze shall whisper peace,
And the world's remotest bound
With the voice of praise resound.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (A).
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

These words were printed without an author's name in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 308 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Glory of the Church”, where the book credits them to the Spirit of the Psalms.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens, six lines (7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to RATISBON (WERNER); any other Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.

Words: Anonymous
Melody (1815): Werner's Choralbuch
Harmony (1861): William Henry Havergal (1793–1870)

Tune RATISBON (WERNER) by William Henry Havergal (1793–1870); words by Anonymous.

Sung to the same tune: As the Hart, with Eager Looks, Centre of Our Hopes Thou Art, Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies, Ever Patient, Loving, Meek, Holy Spirit, Come with Power, It Is Finished! Glorious Word, Jesu, Shepherd of the Sheep, Jesus, I Believe Thee Near, Jesus, While He Dwelt Below, Lamb of God, Who Bear'st Away, Praise to God, Immortal Praise, Quiet, Lord, My Froward Heart, Safely Through Another Week, Savior Shine and Cheer My Soul, Weary Souls, That Wander Wide, When the Parting Bosom Bleeds, Who Shall Towards Thy Chosen Seat.

Questions about On Thy Church, O Power Divine

What is the doh of On Thy Church, O Power Divine?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 On Thy Church, O Power Divine start on?

It starts on s (A in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is On Thy Church, O Power Divine in the public domain?

Yes. William Henry Havergal died in 1870; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1815. 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.