Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above in Tonic Solfa
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above in Tonic Solfa to MIT FREUDEN ZART: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the five verses, and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dSing--- | mpraise-fto-sGod---d'who--- | treigns-la--sbove,---lThe--s_ |
| fGod-mof-rall---mcre--f_- | ra----dtion,---dThe--- |
| mGod-fof-spower,---d'the--- | tGod-lof-slove,---lThe--s_ |
| fGod-mof-rour---msal--f_- | rva----dtion.---d'With--- |
| theal--ling-sbalm---d'my--- | tsoul-lis-sfilled---sAnd--- |
| dev--rery-mfaith----dless--- | mmur--femur-sstilled:---sTo--- |
| lGod-fall-rpraise---mand-f_- | rglo----dry.--- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- MIT FREUDEN ZART
- Words
- Johann Jakob Schütz, Frances Elizabeth Cox
- Music
- Bohemian Brethren's Kirchengesange
Tune MIT FREUDEN ZART (Bohemian Brethren's Kirchengesange); words by Johann Jakob Schütz (1640–1690); translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812–1897). 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 Eb · 3/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Sing praise to God who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love,
The God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled
And every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.
What God’s almighty power hath made
His gracious mercy keepeth,
By morning glow or evening shade
His watchful eye ne’er sleepeth;
Within the kingdom of His might,
Lo! all is just and all is right:
To God all praise and glory.
The Lord is never far away,
But through all grief distressing,
An ever present help and stay,
Our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand,
God gently leads the chosen band:
To God all praise and glory.
Thus, all my toilsome way along,
I sing aloud Thy praises,
That earth may hear the grateful song
My voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart,
Both soul and body bear your part:
To God all praise and glory.
Let all who name Christ’s holy name
Give God all praise and glory;
Let all who own His power proclaim
Aloud the wondrous story!
Cast each false idol from its throne,
For Christ is Lord, and Christ alone:
To God all praise and glory.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 d (E♭), on the word “Sing”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/2 means three minim 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
Johann Jakob Schütz published the German hymn “Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut” in his Christliches Gedenkbüchlein (Frankfurt, 1675); Frances E. Cox’s English translation dates from 1864. The tune MIT FREUDEN ZART comes from the Bohemian Brethren’s Kirchengesänge (1566).
- Words (1675): Johann Jakob Schütz (1640–1690)
- Translated (1864): Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812–1897)
- Melody (1566): Bohemian Brethren's Kirchengesange
Tune MIT FREUDEN ZART (Bohemian Brethren's Kirchengesange); words by Johann Jakob Schütz (1640–1690); translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812–1897).
Sung to the same tune: Great God, What Do I See and Hear, When My Last Hour Is Close at Hand.
Questions about Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
What is the doh of Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Sing” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Jakob Schütz died in 1690, Frances Elizabeth Cox died in 1897; the words were first published in 1864 and the music in 1566. 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.