Within the Father's House in Tonic Solfa
Within the Father's House in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 7 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- FRANCONIA
- Words
- James Russell Woodford
- Music
- Johann Balthasar König
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by James Russell Woodford (1820–1885). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| dWith-- | rin-mthe-fFa--sther's- | mhouse-----sThe- |
| lSon-d'hath-ffound-mHis- | rhome;-----sAnd- |
| d'to-tHis-ltem--sple- | lsud--lden--sly-sThe- |
| dLord-mof-rLife-rhath- | dcome.----- |
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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Within the Father's house
The Son hath found His home;
And to His temple suddenly
The Lord of Life hath come.
The doctors of the law
Gaze on the wondrous child,
And marvel at His gracious words
Of wisdom undefiled.
Yet not to them is giv'n
The mighty truth to know,
To lift the fleshly veil which hides
Incarnate God below.
The secret of the Lord
Escapes each human eye,
And faithful pond'ring hearts await
The full epiphany.
Lord, visit Thou our souls,
And teach us by Thy grace
Each dim revealing of Thyself
With loving awe to trace;
Till from our darkened sight
The cloud shall pass away,
And on the cleansèd soul shall burst
The everlasting day.
D Till we behold Thy face,
And know, as we are known,
Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Co-equal Three in One.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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♭), on the first syllable of “Within”, 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 James Russell Woodford, first published in 1863. The tune, FRANCONIA, is by Johann Balthasar König (1738). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1863): James Russell Woodford (1820–1885)
- Music (1738): Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by James Russell Woodford (1820–1885). 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 Within the Father's House
What is the doh of Within the Father's House?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Within the Father's House start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Within” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Within the Father's House in the public domain?
Yes. James Russell Woodford died in 1885, Johann Balthasar König died in 1758; the words were first published in 1863 and the music in 1738. 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.