To Shepherds as They Watched by Night in Tonic Solfa
To Shepherds as They Watched by Night in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 6 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d' (D)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- VOM HIMMEL HOCH
- Words
- Martin Luther, Richard Massie
- Music
- From Schumann's Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune VOM HIMMEL HOCH (From Schumann's Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| d'To | tshep--lherds-tas-sthey- | lwatched-tby-d'night-_d'Ap- |
| d'peared-sa-shost-mof- | san--fgels-mbright;-_mBe- |
| lhold-lthe-sten--tder- | d'Babe,-lthey-ssaid,-_d'In |
| tyon--lder-slow--sly- | fman-m_rger-dlaid.- |
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 D · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
To shepherds as they watched by night
Appeared a host of angels bright;
Behold the tender Babe, they said,
In yonder lowly manger laid.
At Bethlehem, in David's town,
As Micah did of old make known;
'Tis Jesus Christ, your Lord and King,
Who doth to all salvation bring.
Oh, then rejoice that through His Son
God is with sinners now at one;
Made like yourselves of flesh and blood,
Your Brother is th'eternal God.
What harm can sin and death then do?
The true God now abides with you.
Let hell and Satan rage and chafe,
Christ is your Brother ye are safe.
Not one He will or can forsake
Who Him his confidence doth make.
Let all his wiles the Tempter try,
You may his utmost pow'rs defy.
Ye shall and must at last prevail;
God's own ye are, ye cannot fail.
To God forever sing your praise
With joy and patience all your days.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 “To”, 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. 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 Martin Luther, first published in 1543. The English translation is by Richard Massie (1854). The tune, VOM HIMMEL HOCH, is from Schumann's Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1543): Martin Luther (1483–1546)
- Translated (1854): Richard Massie (1800–1887)
- Melody (1539): From Schumann's Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune VOM HIMMEL HOCH (From Schumann's Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539); words by Martin Luther (1483–1546); translated by Richard Massie (1800–1887). 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.
Sung to the same tune: From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.
Questions about To Shepherds as They Watched by Night
What is the doh of To Shepherds as They Watched by Night?
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 To Shepherds as They Watched by Night start on?
It starts on d' (D in D major), a pickup on the word “To” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d'.
Is To Shepherds as They Watched by Night in the public domain?
Yes. Martin Luther died in 1546, Richard Massie died in 1887; the words were first published in 1854 and the music in 1539. 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.