And Let This Feeble Body Fail in Tonic Solfa

And Let This Feeble Body Fail in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is C4/4

sAnd-

slet--mthismfee--sble-

sbo---rdyrfail-mAnd-

flet-sit-lfaint-tor-

sdie;-----sMy-

ssoul--mshallmquit-sthe-

smourn---rfulrvale-r'And-

de'soar-r'to-m'worlds-lon-

r'high;-----sShall-

m'join--m'ther'dis--d'em--

d'bod---tiedtsaints-d'And-

r'find-tits-llong-ssought-

d'rest,-----d'That-

d'on---llylbliss-d'for-

d'which--sitspants,-sIn-

lmy-d'Re--sdeem--r'er’s-

d'breast.-----

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Key: C major
Doh: C
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (G)
Range: r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
Tune: MATERNA
Words: Charles Wesley
Music: Samuel A. Ward

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). 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 C · 4/4

| s - And| s - - m m - s - let this feeble| s - - r r - m - |body fail And

| f - s - l - t - let it faint or| s - - - - - s - |die; My

| s - - m m - s - soul shall quit the| s - - r r - r' - |mournful vale And

| de' - r' - m' - l - soar to worlds on| r' - - - - - s - |high; Shall

| m' - - m' r' - d' - join the disem-| d' - - t t - d' - |bodied saints And

| r' - t - l - s - find its long sought| d' - - - - - d' - |rest, That

| d' - - l l - d' - only bliss for| d' - - s s - s - |which it pants, In

| l - d' - s - r' - my Redeemer’s| d' - - - - - |breast.

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

And let this feeble body fail
And let it faint or die;
My soul shall quit the mournful vale
And soar to worlds on high;
Shall join the disembodied saints
And find its long-sought rest,
That only bliss for which it pants,
In my Redeemer’s breast.

In hope of that immortal crown
I now the cross sustain
And gladly wander up and down
And smile at toil and pain.
I suffer on my threescore years
Till my Deliverer come
And wipe away His servant’s tears
And take His exile home.

Oh, what hath Jesus bought for me!
Before my ravished eyes
Rivers of life divine I see
And trees of paradise!
I see a world of spirits bright
Who reap the pleasures there;
They all are robed in spotless white,
And conquering palms they bear.

Oh, what are all my sufferings here
If, Lord, Thou count me meet
With that enraptured host t’appear
And worship at Thy feet!
Give joy or grief, give ease or pain,
Take life or friends away,
But let me find them all again
In that eternal day.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 s (G), on the word “And”, 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 and the chromatic de. 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

Charles Wesley wrote these words. They were printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 521.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)

Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788).

Sung to the same tune: Behold, the King of Zion Rides, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, My Shepherd Is the Lord on High, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O God, That Madest Earth and Sky, O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word, The Earth, All Light and Loveliness, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.

Questions about And Let This Feeble Body Fail

What is the doh of And Let This Feeble Body Fail?

In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 And Let This Feeble Body Fail start on?

It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “And” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is And Let This Feeble Body Fail in the public domain?

Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1882. 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.