Thou, Whose Almighty Word in Tonic Solfa
Thou, Whose Almighty Word in Tonic Solfa to DORT, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThou,-mwhose-dal-- | smight---lysword- | sCha--tos-sand- | r'dark---m'nessr'heard,- |
| d'And-ttook-ltheir- | sflight!----- | sHear-mus,-fwe- | shum---lblyspray,- |
| sAnd-mwhere-fthe- | sgos---lpelsday- | sSheds-d'not-r'its- | m'glo---f'riousm'ray,- |
| r'Let-d'there-tbe- | d'light!----- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- d (C)
- Range
- d to f' (C to F)
- Tune
- DORT
- Words
- John Marriott
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune DORT by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by John Marriott (1780–1825). 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 · 3/4
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
Thou, whose almighty word
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight!
Hear us, we humbly pray,
And where the gospel day
Sheds not its glorious ray,
Let there be light!
Thou, who didst come to bring,
On Thy redeeming wing,
Healing and sight!
Health to the sick in mind,
Light to the inly blind,
O, now to all mankind
Let there be light!
Descend Thou from above,
Spirit of truth and love,
Speed on Thy flight!
Move o'er the waters' face,
Spirit of hope and grace,
And in earth's darkest place
Let there be light!
Blessed and glorious three,
Thrice holy trinity,
Wisdom, love, might!
Boundless as ocean's tide,
Rolling in fullest pride,
Through the world, far and wide,
Let there be light!
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).
- 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.
- 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
John Marriott wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 174, “Let There Be Light”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sixes and Fours (6.6.4.6.6.6.4), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to DORT; any other Sixes and Fours tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Marriott (1780–1825)
- Music (1832): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune DORT by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by John Marriott (1780–1825).
Sung to the same tune: Auspicious Morning, Hail, Loud Raise the Notes of Joy, My Country 'Tis of Thee, Where, for a Thousand Miles, With Thy Pure Dews and Rains.
Questions about Thou, Whose Almighty Word
What is the doh of Thou, Whose Almighty Word?
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 Thou, Whose Almighty Word start on?
It starts on d (C in C major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Thou, Whose Almighty Word in the public domain?
Yes. John Marriott died in 1825, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1832. 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.