Almighty Lord, Before Thy Throne in Tonic Solfa
Almighty Lord, Before Thy Throne in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G minor
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- l, (G)
- Range
- se, to m (F♯ to D, a sixth)
- Tune
- BURFORD (PURCELL)
- Words
- Anne Steele
- Music
- Henry Purcell
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BURFORD (PURCELL) by Henry Purcell (1659–1695); words by Anne Steele (1717–1778). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| l,Al-- | l,migh----t,ty- | dLord---rBe-- | mfore-r_-dThy- | t,throne---se,Thy- |
| l,mour----t,ning- | dpeo----rple- | mbend:---mTis- | ron-d_-t,Thy- |
| dgrace---rin- | mChrist-r_-da-- | t,lone---se,Our- | l,fai---t,_dling- |
| t,hopes-l,_-se,de-- | l,pend.--- |
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 Bb · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Almighty Lord Before Thy throne
Thy mourning people bend:
Tis on Thy grace in Christ alone
Our failing hopes depend.
Dark judgments, from Thy heavy hand,
Thy dreadful pow'r display;
Yet mercy spares our guilty land,
And still we live to pray.
How changed, alas! are truths divine
For error guilt and shame!
What imp'ous numbers, bold in sin,
Disgrace the Christian name!
O turn us, turn us, mighty Lord!
Convert us by Thy grace;
Then shall our hearts obey Thy Word,
And see again Thy face.
Then, should oppressing foes invade,
We will not yield to fear,
Secure of all sufficient aid,
When God in Christ is near.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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 l, (G), on the first syllable of “Almighty”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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 l t and the chromatic se. 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 Anne Steele, first published in 1756. The tune, BURFORD (PURCELL), is by Henry Purcell (1718). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1756): Anne Steele (1717–1778)
- Music (1718): Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune BURFORD (PURCELL) by Henry Purcell (1659–1695); words by Anne Steele (1717–1778). 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 Almighty Lord, Before Thy Throne
What is the doh of Almighty Lord, Before Thy Throne?
In this version, in G minor, doh is Bb. 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 Almighty Lord, Before Thy Throne start on?
It starts on l, (G in G minor), a pickup on the first syllable of “Almighty” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is Almighty Lord, Before Thy Throne in the public domain?
Yes. Anne Steele died in 1778, Henry Purcell died in 1695; the words were first published in 1756 and the music in 1718. 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.