The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come in Tonic Solfa
The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come in Tonic Solfa to MERIBAH, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThe--- | mjoy---mfulmmorn,-rmy-mGod,-fis- | scome,-------mThat--- |
| lcalls--lmelto-sthy-fsa--mcred- | rdome,-------sThy--- |
| tpre--lsence-sto---fea---- | sdore:-------sMy--- |
| d'feet-sthe-ssum--mmons-fshall-lat-- | stend,-------sWith--- |
| d'will--sing-ssteps-mthy-fcourts-las-- | scend-------dAnd--- |
| rtread-fthe-mhal----rlowed--- | dfloor.------- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- MERIBAH
- Words
- James Merrick
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by James Merrick (1720–1769). 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 · 3/2
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 joyful morn, my God, is come,
That calls me to thy sacred dome,
Thy presence to adore:
My feet the summons shall attend,
With willing steps thy courts ascend
And tread the hallowed floor.
With holy joy I hail the day,
That warns my thirsting soul away;
What transports fill my breast!
For, lo! my great Redeemer's power
Unfolds the everlasting door,
And leads me to his rest!
Hither, from earth's remotest end,
Lo! the redeemed of God ascend,
Their tribute hither bring;
Here, crowned with everlasting joy,
In hymns of praise their tongues employ,
And hail the immortal King.
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 d (E♭), on the word “The”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/2 means three minim 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. 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
James Merrick wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 62 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “The Sabbath and the Earthly Temple”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Particular Metre (8.8.6.8.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MERIBAH; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: James Merrick (1720–1769)
- Music (1839): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by James Merrick (1720–1769).
Sung to the same tune: At Early Dawn, with Pious Thought, Be It My Only Wisdom Here, Blinded in Youth by Satan's Arts, But We from Such Assaults Are Freed, Except the Lord Conduct the Plan, How Happy, Gracious Lord! Are We, If Solid Happiness We Prize, Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art, Lord, Thou Hast Won, at Length I Yield, May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfil, O God of Life, in Whom We Live, O Lord! How Happy Should We Be, O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art, O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth, Thou God of Glorious Majesty, When, Lord, to This Our Western Land.
Questions about The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come
What is the doh of The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come?
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 Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come in the public domain?
Yes. James Merrick died in 1769, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1839. 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.