Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness in Tonic Solfa

Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness in Tonic Solfa to MANNHEIM, doh is E: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is E4/4

dAl--mle--slu--sia,-

lhymn-sof-fsweet--mness,-

mJoy--fful-svoice-dof-

mcease--rless-dpraise;---

sAl--sle--llu--sia,-

taplea--lsant-lan--sthem,-

sChoirs-rce--mles--ltial-

ssweet--fely-sraise:---

dThis-mthe-ssong-sof-

lthose-sa--fbid--ming-

mIn-fthe-shouse-dof-

mGod-ral--dways.---

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Key: E major
Doh: E
Time: 4/4
Starts on: d (E)
Range: d to ta (E to C𝄪, a seventh)
Tune: MANNHEIM
Words: Traditional Latin, John Brownlie
Music: Friedrich Filitz

Tune MANNHEIM by Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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 E · 4/4

| d - m - s - s - Alleluia,| l - s - f - m - |hymn of sweetness,

| m - f - s - d - Joyful voice of| m - r - d - - - |ceaseless praise;

| s - s - l - s - Alleluia,| ta - l - l - s - |pleasant anthem,

| s - r - m - l - Choirs celestial| s - fe - s - - - |sweetly raise:

| d - m - s - s - This the song of| l - s - f - m - |those abiding

| m - f - s - d - In the house of| m - r - d - - - |God always.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in E major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Alleluia, hymn of sweetness,
Joyful voice of ceaseless praise;
Alleluia, pleasant anthem,
Choirs celestial sweetly raise:
This the song of those abiding
In the house of God always.

Alleluia, Mother Salem,
All Thy people joy in song;
Alleluia, walls and bulwarks
Evermore the notes prolong:
Ah! beside the streams of Babel,
Exiled, weep we o’er our wrong.

Alleluia, ’tis befitting
That our song should falter here;
Alleluia, can we sing it
When the clouds of wrath appear?
To bemoan our sin with weeping,
Now the time is drawing near.

Trinity, for ever blessed!
May we sing the gladsome lay,
When from sin our souls are severed,
And the clouds have passed away,
And we share the Easter glory,
In the realms of endless day?

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum E 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).
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 and the chromatic ta fe. 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

John Brownlie translated these words from the Latin hymns of the early Church for Hymns of the Early Church (London, 1896), headed “Alleluia, Dulce Carmen”.

The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Eights and Sevens, six lines (8.7.8.7.8.7), and this page sets them to MANNHEIM; any other Eights and Sevens, six lines tune fits them as well.

Words: Traditional Latin
Translated (1896): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
Music (1847): Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876)

Tune MANNHEIM by Friedrich Filitz (1804–1876); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).

Sung to the same tune: Gracious Savior, Gentle Shepherd, Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us, Terror Grim the Soul Oppresses, Thirty Years by God Appointed.

Questions about Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness

What is the doh of Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness?

In this version, in E major, doh is E. 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 Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness start on?

It starts on d (E in E major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is Alleluia, Hymn of Sweetness in the public domain?

Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Friedrich Filitz died in 1876; the words were in print by 1896 and the music in 1847. 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.