The Earth, All Light and Loveliness in Tonic Solfa
The Earth, All Light and Loveliness in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sThe- | searth,--mallmlight-sand- | slove---rli-rness,-mIn- |
| fsum--smer's-lgol--tden- | shours,-----sShines,- |
| sin--mhermbri--sdal- | sves---rturerclad,-r'And- |
| de'crowned-r'with-m'fest--lal- | r'flowers,-----sSo- |
| m'ra---m'di-r'ant--d'ly- | d'beau---tti-tful,-d'So- |
| r'like-tto-lheaven-sa-- | d'bove,-----d'We- |
| d'scarce--lcanldeem-d'more- | d'fair--sthatsworld-sOf- |
| lper--d'fect-sbliss-r'and- | d'love.----- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- MATERNA
- Music
- Samuel A. Ward
Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Sarah Elizabeth Miles (1807–1877). 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 C · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
The earth, all light and loveliness,
In summer's golden hours,
Shines, in her bridal vesture clad,
And crowned with festal flowers,
So radiantly beautiful,
So like to heaven above,
We scarce can deem more fair that world
Of perfect bliss and love.
Is this a shadow faint and dim
Of that which is to come!
What shall the unveiled splendor be
Of our celestial home,
Where waves the glorious tree of life,
Where streams of bliss gush free,
And all is glowing in the light
Of immortality!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (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 and the chromatic de. 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
Sarah Elizabeth Miles wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 395, “Summer”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Sarah Elizabeth Miles (1807–1877)
- Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)
Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Sarah Elizabeth Miles (1807–1877).
Sung to the same tune: And Let This Feeble Body Fail, Behold, the King of Zion Rides, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, My Shepherd Is the Lord on High, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O God, That Madest Earth and Sky, O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.
Questions about The Earth, All Light and Loveliness
What is the doh of The Earth, All Light and Loveliness?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 Earth, All Light and Loveliness start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is The Earth, All Light and Loveliness in the public domain?
Yes. Sarah Elizabeth Miles died in 1877, Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1882. 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.