The Day Is Surely Drawing Near in Tonic Solfa
The Day Is Surely Drawing Near in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ES IST GEWISSLICH AN DER ZEIT
- Words
- Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, Phillip Adam Peter
- Music
- From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ES IST GEWISSLICH AN DER ZEIT (From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533); words by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1532–1599); translated by Phillip Adam Peter (1832–1919). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dThe-dday-mis- | rsure--dly-rdraw--ring- | mnear,---dWhen--- |
| mGod's-fSon,-sthe-mA-- | rnoint----ded,--- |
| __dShall-dwith-mgreat- | rmaj--des--rty-rap-- |
| mpear,---dAs--- | mJudge-fof-sall-map-- |
| rpoint----ded.--- | __mAll-mmirth-rand- |
| dlaugh--t,ter-dthen-l,shall- | s,cease-----s,When- |
| dflames-don-dflames-t,will- | dstill-rin--mcrease,--- |
| dAs---mScrip--fture- | stru--mly-rteach---- |
| deth.------- |
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 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
The day is surely drawing near,
When God's Son, the Anointed,
Shall with great majesty appear,
As Judge of all appointed.
All mirth and laughter then shall cease
When flames on flames will still increase,
As Scripture truly teacheth.
A trumpet loud shall then resound,
And all the earth be shaken;
Then all who in their graves are found
Shall from their sleep awaken.
But all that live shall in that hour,
By the Almighty's boundless pow'r
Be changed at His commanding.
A book is opened then to all,
A record truly telling
What each hath done, both great and small,
When he on earth was dwelling;
And every heart be clearly seen,
And all be known as they have been,
In thoughts and words and actions.
Then woe to those who scorned the Lord,
And sought but carnal pleasures,
Who here despised His precious Word,
And loved their earthly treasures!
With shame and trembling they will stand,
And at the Judge's stern command
To Satan be delivered.
O Jesus, who my debt didst pay
And for my sin wast smitten
Within the Book of Life, oh, may
My name be also written!
I will not doubt; I trust in Thee,
From Satan Thou hast made me free
And from all condemnation.
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 d (G), on the word “The”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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
The words are by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, first published in 1565. The English translation is by Phillip Adam Peter (1872). The tune, ES IST GEWISSLICH AN DER ZEIT, is from Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1565): Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1532–1599)
- Translated (1872): Phillip Adam Peter (1832–1919)
- Melody (1533): From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ES IST GEWISSLICH AN DER ZEIT (From Klug's Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1533); words by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1532–1599); translated by Phillip Adam Peter (1832–1919). 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.
Questions about The Day Is Surely Drawing Near
What is the doh of The Day Is Surely Drawing Near?
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 The Day Is Surely Drawing Near start on?
It starts on d (G in G major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is The Day Is Surely Drawing Near in the public domain?
Yes. Bartholomäus Ringwaldt died in 1599, Phillip Adam Peter died in 1919; the words were first published in 1872 and the music in 1533. 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.