Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore in Tonic Solfa
Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore in Tonic Solfa to ELLERS, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,Re----s,store,-l,O- | s,Fa----dther!--- |
| dto-t,our-dtimes-rre-- | mstore------- |
| dThe---dpeace-rwhich- | dfilled---mthine--- |
| min--rfant-mchurch-feof- | syore;------- |
| sEre---dlust-dof- | fpower---fhad--- |
| fsown-rthe-mseeds-fof- | mstrife,------- |
| dAnd---rquenched-dthe- | dnew---l,born--- |
| s,char--s,i--l,ties-s,of- | s,life.------- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (E♭)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- ELLERS
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Edward John Hopkins
Tune ELLERS by Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901); 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 Ab · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Restore, O Father! to our times restore
The peace which filled thine infant church of yore;
Ere lust of power had sown the seeds of strife,
And quenched the new-born charities of life.
O never more may differing judgments part
From kindly sympathy a brother's heart;
But linked in one, believing thousands kneel,
And share with each the sacred joy they feel.
From soul to soul, quick as the sunbeam's ray,
Let concord spread one universal day;
And faith, by love lead all mankind to thee,
Parent of peace, and fount of harmony!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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, (E♭).
- 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 fe. 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 680 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"And all that believed were together." Acts 4:44”, where the book credits them to Beard's Collection.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Tens (10.10.10.10), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ELLERS; any other Tens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1869): Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901)
Tune ELLERS by Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime, O Thou Great Friend to All the Sons of Men, O Thou, the Primal Fount of Life and Peace, Saviour, Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise.
Questions about Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore
What is the doh of Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore start on?
It starts on s, (E♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore in the public domain?
Yes. Edward John Hopkins died in 1901; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1869. 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.