Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows in Tonic Solfa
Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows in Tonic Solfa to PLEYEL'S HYMN, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mSweet--ser-rfounds--mthan | fmu--rsic-mknows--- |
| mCharm-sme,-rin--mEm- | fma--rnuel'S-dname;--- |
| rAll-mher-dhopes--rmy | t,spir--l,it-s,owes--- |
| mTo-shis-rbirth,--mand | fcross,-rand-dshame.--- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (B)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- PLEYEL'S HYMN
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Ignaz Joseph Pleyel
Tune PLEYEL'S HYMN by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined); words by John Newton (1725–1807). 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Sweeter founds than music knows
Charm me, in Emmanuel'S name;
All her hopes my spirit owes
To his birth, and cross, and shame.
When he came the angels sang
"Glory be to God on high,"
Lord, unloose my stamm'ring tongue,
Who should louder sing than I.
Did the Lord a man become
That he might the law fulfil,
Bleed and suffer in my room,
And canst thou, my tongue, be still.
No, I must my praises bring,
Though they worthless are, and weak;
For should I refuse to sing
Sure the very stones would speak.
O my Savior, Shield, and Sun,
Shepherd, Brother, Husband, Friend,
Every precious name in one;
I will love thee without end.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 m (B).
- 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. 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
John Newton wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book II, hymn 37, “Praise for the incarnation”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens (7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to PLEYEL'S HYMN; any other Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Arranged (1790): Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined)
Tune PLEYEL'S HYMN by Ignaz Joseph Pleyel (died undefined); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: As the Sun's Enlivening Eye, Blest Instructor! from Thy Ways, Choice of God, Thou Blessed Day, Christ, from Whom All Blessings Flow, Come, Said Jesus' Sacred Voice, For a Season Called to Part, Heralds of Creation! Cry, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, I Will Praise Thee Every Day, Interval of Grateful Shade, Lift Aloud the Voice of Praise, Morning Breaks upon the Tomb, Oft in Sorrow, Oft in Woe, Prayer an Answer Will Obtain, Sleep Not, Soldier of the Cross, Softly Now the Light of Day, Swell the Anthem, Raise the Song, Thus Said Jesus: — "Go and Do, When, My Saviour, Shall I Be.
Questions about Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows
What is the doh of Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows start on?
It starts on m (B in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Sweeter Founds Than Music Knows in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel died in undefined; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1790. 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.