The Joy of Earth Is Fleeting in Tonic Solfa
The Joy of Earth Is Fleeting in Tonic Solfa to EWING, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThe- | rjoy-dof-fearth-mis- | rfleet----ding,-mThe- |
| sbliss-d'of-theaven-sere-- | lmains;-----lMore- |
| ssweet-mthan-mearth--rly- | dmu----rsic-mThe- |
| man--mgel's-rglad-dre-- | rfrains;-----rAnd- |
| fhearts-mof-lsaints-tup-- | d'ris----r'ing-sFind- |
| m'vent--m'inr'sweet--d'est- | tsong,-----lAnd- |
| slips-mof-msaints-rand- | dan----rgels-mThe- |
| mpraise-mof-rheaven--dpro- | dlong.----- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (C)
- Range
- d to m' (C to E, a tenth)
- Tune
- EWING
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Alexander C. Ewing
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EWING by Alexander C. Ewing (1830–1895); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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 joy of earth is fleeting,
The bliss of heaven remains;
More sweet than earthly music
The angel's glad refrains;
And hearts of saints uprising
Find vent in sweetest song,
And lips of saints and angels
The praise of heaven prolong.
O Christ, who art for ever
With those whom Thou dost love,
Thou art the theme inspiring
The choirs who dwell above;
The love that brought Thee earthward,
The love that stooped and died,
The pardon won for sinners,
When Thou wast crucified.
Be Thee our theme who linger
Where Thou didst sorrowing dwell;
And teach our hearts to love Thee,
Our lips to praise Thee well;
And when we come adoring
To where Thou ever art,
One song shall rise exulting,
From one united heart.
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 d (C), 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 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
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns from the Greek Office Books (Paisley, 1904).
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), and this page sets them to EWING; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1904): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1853): Alexander C. Ewing (1830–1895)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune EWING by Alexander C. Ewing (1830–1895); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: "Remember Thy Creator", Hail to the Lord's Anointed, Jerusalem the Golden, Let Me Be Thine Forever, O Living Bread from Heaven, O Word of God Incarnate, Our Father — Ever Living.
Questions about The Joy of Earth Is Fleeting
What is the doh of The Joy of Earth Is Fleeting?
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 Joy of Earth Is Fleeting start on?
It starts on d (C in C major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is The Joy of Earth Is Fleeting in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Alexander C. Ewing died in 1895; the words were in print by 1904 and the music in 1853. 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.