The Vespers hymn for the Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24):

http://www.chantcd.com/lyrics/ut_queant_laxis.htm

1. Ut queant laxis resonare fibris
Mira gestorum famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti labii reatum,
Sancte Joannes.

2. Nuntius celso veniens Olympo,
Te patri magnum fore nasciturum,
Nomen, et vitae seriem gerendae
Ordine promit.

3. Ille promissi dubius superni,
Perdidit promptae modulos loquelae:
Sed reformasti genitus peremptae
Organa vocis.

4. Ventris obstruso recubans cubili
Senseras Regem thalamo manentem:
Hinc parens nati meritis uterque
Abdita pandit.

5. Sit decus Patri, genitaeque Proli,
Et tibi compar utriusque virtus,
Spiritus semper, Deus unus, omni
Temporis aevo. Amen.


Initially written by Paolo Diacono as a hymn to Saint John the Baptist (circa 720 - 799), the Latin words "Ut queant laxis, Resonare fibris, Mira gestorum, Famuli tuorum, Solve polluti, Labii reatum," translate to "So that Your servants may sing at the top of their voices the wonders of Your acts, and absolve the fault from their stained lips."

1. UT - queant laxis
2. RE - sonare fibris
3. MI - ra gestorum
4. FA - muli tuorum
5. SOL - ve polluti
6. LA - bii reatum

Using the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la as names for the six tones, C to A, an Italian monk named Guido d'Arezzo (990-1050) created the system of Solmization, a system of using syllables, especially sol-fa like syllables, to represent the tones of the scale (known as the Guido System). Later in history 'Ut' was replaced by the more easily singable 'Do,' and another syllable, si or ti, was added at the end, giving the scale of seven syllables called do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti, which forms the present basic system of singing names for the tones of the scale. The syllable sol was later shortened to 'So,' making all of the syllables uniform in spelling and all ending with a vowel. This allowed for ease of remembering for faster learning and making it easy to do 'sight singing', or being able to instantly sing new music in tune from reproduced standardized sheet music.

The foundation of Western music is indisputably our patrimony of Gregorian Chant.
Sol-fa singing is based on the 4 ledger lined staff of Chant, and the various modes
of the scales provide the basis for our modern scales.

We have now 5 lines in the staff, and piano and organ music have two staves,
treble and bass, but all this grew out of the ancient Chant literature.

There is a less common tenor clef that some instruments use.

A lot of misunderstanding exists among musicians who only use one clef or
another. I knew a violinist who thought that there were no invisible lines
between the treble and the bass clef (there is one, the line for middle C). He
never used the bass clef, so how would he know about it? And his wife was an
accompanist, playing piano.

I had heard that sol-fa tones came from some Latin verses, but I had not seen
them, actually. This first post answers my question, finally. Thanks, Matthew!

If there is anyone in the Forum that would like to have some Real Fun, go to Amazon MP3's and download Thelonious by Thelonious Monk( the album is Underground) & I Didn't Know What Time by McCoy Tyner( the album is Just Feelin). This will cost a grand total of $1:98.