Thirty Years by God Appointed in Tonic Solfa
Thirty Years by God Appointed in Tonic Solfa to MANNHEIM, doh is E: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThir--mty-syears-sby- | lGod-sap--fpoint--med,- |
| mAnd-fthere-sdawns-dthe- | mwoe--rful-dday,--- |
| sWhen-sthe-lgreat-sRe-- | tadeem--ler-lgirds-sHim- |
| sFor-rthe-mtu--lmult- | sof-fethe-sfray;--- |
| dAnd-mup--son-sthe- | lcross-sup--flift--med,- |
| mBears-four-sload-dof- | mguilt-ra--dway.--- |
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- Key
- E major
- Doh
- E
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E)
- Range
- d to ta (E to C𝄪, a seventh)
- Tune
- MANNHEIM
- Words
- Traditional Latin, John Brownlie
- Music
- Friedrich Filitz
Tune MANNHEIM by Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876); words by Traditional Latin; 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 E · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in E major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Thirty years by God appointed,
And there dawns the woeful day,
When the great Redeemer girds Him
For the tumult of the fray;
And upon the cross uplifted,
Bears our load of guilt away.
Ah! ’tis bitter gall He drinketh,
When His heart in anguish fails;—
From the thorns His life-blood trickles,
From the spear wound and the nails;
But that crimson stream for cleansing,
O’er creation wide prevails.
Faithful Cross! in all the woodland,
Standeth not a nobler tree;
In thy leaf, and flower, and fruitage,
None can e’er thy equal be;
Sweet the wood, and sweet the iron,
Sweet the load that hung on thee.
Noble tree! unbend thy branches,
Let thy stubborn fibres bend,
Cast thy native rigour from thee,
Be a gentle, loving friend;
Bear Him in thine arms, and softly,
Christ, the King eternal, tend.
Only thou could’st bear the burden
Of the ransom of our race;
Only thou could’st be a refuge,
Like the ark, a hiding-place,
By the sacred blood anointed,
Of the Covenant of Grace.
Blessing, blessing everlasting,
To the glorious Trinity;
To the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Equal glory let there be;
Universal praise be given,
To the Blessed One in Three.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum E 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).
- 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 and the chromatic ta 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
John Brownlie translated these words from the Latin hymns of the early Church for Hymns of the Early Church (London, 1896), where he gives them as “By some attributed to St. Ambrose, but generally and with greater probability to Fortunatus”, headed “Lustra Sex Qui Jam Peregit”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Eights and Sevens, six lines (8.7.8.7.8.7), and this page sets them to MANNHEIM; any other Eights and Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Latin
- Translated (1896): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1847): Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876)
Tune MANNHEIM by Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness, Gracious Savior, Gentle Shepherd, Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us, Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses.
Questions about Thirty Years by God Appointed
What is the doh of Thirty Years by God Appointed?
In this version, in E major, doh is E. 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 Thirty Years by God Appointed start on?
It starts on d (E in E major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Thirty Years by God Appointed in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Friedrich Filitz died in 1876; the words were in print by 1896 and the music in 1847. 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.