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Hymns in Tonic Solfa

The Love of God in Tonic Solfa

The Love of God in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 4 verses, and a piano to sing along with.

Key
Db major
Doh
Db
Time
3/4
Starts on
d (D♭)
Range
d to d' (D♭ to D♭, an octave)
Tune
THE LOVE OF GOD
Words
Frederick Martin Lehman
Music
Frederick Martin Lehman

Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune THE LOVE OF GOD by Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953); words by Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953). Sources and licences.

The solfa with the words

Doh is Db3/4
dThedlove-,rofmGod--sislgreat--,sersfar-m_sThanstongue-,morrpen--fcanmev--,rermtell,--dItdgoes-,rbe-
myond--sthelhigh--,sestsstar,-m_sAndsreach--,mesrto--fthemlow--,restdhell;--d'Thed'guilt--,d'y
lpair,--d'bowedd'down-,d'withscare,-m_sGodsgave-,lHissSon-r_-fto-mwin;--d'Hisd'err--,d'ing
lchild,--d'Hed'rec--,d'on-sciled,-m_sAndspar--,ldonedsfrom-r_-mhis-dsin.--d'Ohd'love-,d'of
d'God,--d'howtrich-,landspure!-m_sHowsmeas--,lure-sless-r_-land-sstrong!--d'Itd'shall-,d'for-
d'ev---d'er-tmore-,len-sdure,-m_sThessaints'-,landsan--r_-mgels'-dsong.--

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 Db · 3/4

| d d -,r The love of| m - - s l -,s God is greater| s - m s s -,m far Than tongue or| r - - f m -,r pen can ever| m - - d d -,r |tell, It goes be-
| m - - s l -,s yond the highest| s - m s s -,m star, And reaches| r - - f m -,r to the lowest| d - - d' d' -,d' |hell; The guilty
| l - - d' d' -,d' pair, bowed down with| s - m s s -,l care, God gave His| s - r - f - Son to| m - - d' d' -,d' |win; His erring
| l - - d' d' -,d' child, He recon-| s - m s s -,l ciled, And pardoned| s - r - m - from his| d - - d' d' -,d' |sin. Oh love of
| d' - - d' t -,l God, how rich and| s - m s s -,l pure! How measure-| s - r - l - less and| s - - d' d' -,d' |strong! It shall for-
| d' - - d' t -,l evermore en-| s - m s s -,l dure, The saints' and| s - r - m - angels'| d - - |song.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in Db major, with the first verse under the notes.

The words

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell,
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child,
He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain

Oh love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints' and angels' song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God's love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam's race—
The saints' and angels' song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Tho' stretched from sky to sky.

How to sing it from the solfa

  • Find doh first. Play or hum Db 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 (D♭), on the word “The”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
  • Count the time. 3/4 means three 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
  • 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 Frederick Martin Lehman, first published in 1917. The tune, THE LOVE OF GOD, is by Frederick Martin Lehman (1917). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.

  • Words (1917): Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953)
  • Music (1917): Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953)

Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune THE LOVE OF GOD by Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953); words by Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953). 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 Love of God

What is the doh of The Love of God?

In this version, in Db major, doh is Db. 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 Love of God start on?

It starts on d (D♭ in Db major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is The Love of God in the public domain?

Yes. Frederick Martin Lehman died in 1953, Frederick Martin Lehman died in 1953; the words were first published in 1917 and the music in 1917. 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.

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