What Our Father Does Is Well in Tonic Solfa
What Our Father Does Is Well in Tonic Solfa to SPANISH HYMN, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dWhat--dourt,Fa--dther- | l,does-dis-s,well:--- |
| mBless--ded-ftruth-rHis- | dchild--t,ren-dtell!--- |
| mThough--mHersend,-mfor- | fplen--mty,-rwant,--- |
| mThough--mtherhar--mvest- | fstore-mbe-rscant,--- |
| dYet--dwet,rest-dup-- | l,on-dHis-s,love,--- |
| mSeek--ding-fbet--rter- | dthings-t,a--dbove.--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (A♭)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- SPANISH HYMN
- Music
- Spanish Traditional, Benjamin Carr, David Evans
Tune SPANISH HYMN by Benjamin Carr (died undefined) and David Evans (1874–1948); words by Benjamin Schmolck (1672–1737); translated by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877). 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 Ab · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
What our Father does is well:
Blessed truth His children tell!
Though He send, for plenty, want,
Though the harvest-store be scant,
Yet we rest upon His love,
Seeking better things above.
What our Father does is well:
Shall the wilful heart rebel
If a blessing He withhold
In the field or in the fold?
Is He not Himself to be
All our store eternally?
What our Father does is well:
Though He sadden hill and dell,
Upward yet our praises rise
For the strength His Word supplies.
He has called us sons of God;
Can we murmur at His rod?
What our Father does is well:
May the thought within us dwell;
Though nor milk nor honey flow
In our barren Canaan now,
God can save us in our need,
God can bless us, God can feed.
Therefore unto Him we raise
Hymns of glory, songs of praise.
To the Father and the Son
And the Spirit, Three in One,
Honor, might, and glory be
Now and through eternity.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 (A♭).
- 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
Benjamin Schmolck wrote these words in German. Henry Williams Baker's translation was printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 301.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens, six lines (7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to SPANISH HYMN; any other Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.
- Words: Benjamin Schmolck (1672–1737)
- Translated: Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877)
- Melody: Spanish Traditional
- Arranged (1822): Benjamin Carr (died undefined)
- Harmony (1927): David Evans (1874–1948)
Tune SPANISH HYMN by Benjamin Carr (died undefined) and David Evans (1874–1948); words by Benjamin Schmolck (1672–1737); translated by Henry Williams Baker (1821–1877).
Sung to the same tune: God of Mercy, God of Grace, In the Morning Sow Thy Seed, Lay Her Gently in the Dust, Lead Us with Thy Gentle Sway, O Disclose Thy Lovely Face, Saviour, Cast a Pitying Eye, Saviour, Prince of Israel's Race, To the Father's Love We Trust, When Arise the Thoughts of Sin, When the Sun, with Cheerful Beams.
Questions about What Our Father Does Is Well
What is the doh of What Our Father Does Is Well?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 What Our Father Does Is Well start on?
It starts on d (A♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is What Our Father Does Is Well in the public domain?
Yes. Benjamin Schmolck died in 1737, Henry Williams Baker died in 1877, Benjamin Carr died in undefined, David Evans died in 1948; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1822. 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.