Ut queant laxis

Ut queant laxis or Hymnus in Ioannem is a hymn to Saint John the Baptist written by Paolo Diacono (ca 720 - 799) of Italy. It is notable in that the first syllable of each line gave its name to a successive note of the major scale in solfege, as each line begins with the successively higher note. The lyrics are:

Ut queant laxis

Resonāre fibris

Mīra gestorum

Famuli tuorum,

Solve polluti

Labii reatum,

Sancte Ioannes.

(So that these your servants may, with all their voice, sing your marvelous (Mī) exploits, clean (Sol) the guilt from our stained lips, O Saint John.)

Ut is now mostly replaced by "do" due to the latter's open sound.

The use of Ut queant laxis to name the notes is usually attributed to Guido of Arezzo.

External links

• An alternative translation (http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa092700a.htm)
• Another translations (http://www.research.umbc.edu/~dkusic1/TimetableSeptember321.htm)