The Heavens Declare His Glory in Tonic Solfa
The Heavens Declare His Glory in Tonic Solfa to GREENLAND, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mThe- | sheavens-sde--sclare-shis- | d'glo----mry,-mTheir- |
| rMak--rer's-fskill-fthe- | mskies:-----rEach- |
| mday-sre--speats-sthe- | d'sto----fery,-feAnd- |
| snight-lto-tnight-lre-- | splies.-----tTheir- |
| d'si--slent-fpro--mcla-- | mma----rtion-tThrough-- |
| d'out-sthe-fearth-mis- | rheard;-----s,The- |
| dre--mcord-sof--secre- | ta----ltion,-lThe- |
| spage-mof-mna---rture's | dword.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (G)
- Range
- s, to d' (B♭ to E♭)
- Tune
- GREENLAND
- Words
- Josiah Conder
- Music
- Johann Michael Haydn, B. Jacob
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by Josiah Conder (1789–1855). 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 · 4/4
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
The heavens declare his glory,
Their Maker's skill the skies:
Each day repeats the story,
And night to night replies.
Their silent proclamation
Throughout the earth is heard;
The record of creation,
The page of nature's word.
There, from his bright pavilion,
Like eastern bridegroom clad,
Hailed by earth's thousand million,
The sun sets forth; right glad,
His glorious race commencing,
The mighty giant seems;
Through the vast round dispensing
His all-pervading beams.
So pure, so soul-restoring
Is truth's diviner ray;
A brighter radiance pouring
Than all the pomp of day:
The wanderer surely guiding,
It makes the simple wise;
And evermore abiding,
Unfailing joy supplies.
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 m (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 fe se. 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
Josiah Conder wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 181 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"Day unto day uttereth speech."”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to GREENLAND; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Josiah Conder (1789–1855)
- Music: Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806)
- Arranged (National Psalmody, 1819): B. Jacob (died undefined)
Tune GREENLAND by Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806) and B. Jacob (died undefined); words by Josiah Conder (1789–1855).
Sung to the same tune: How Blest, Amid All Blessing, Light of the Gentile Nations, O God of Our Salvation, Shall Men Pretend to Pleasure, The Morning Light Is Breaking, We Come with Joy and Gladness, When Shall the Voice of Singing.
Questions about The Heavens Declare His Glory
What is the doh of The Heavens Declare His Glory?
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 The Heavens Declare His Glory start on?
It starts on m (G in Eb major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is The Heavens Declare His Glory in the public domain?
Yes. Josiah Conder died in 1855, Johann Michael Haydn died in 1806, B. Jacob died in undefined; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1819. 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.