Hymn · Tonic Solfa
Be Present at Our Table, Lord in Tonic Solfa
Be Present at Our Table, Lord — the sung grace before meals — in Tonic Solfa (doh is G) to OLD HUNDREDTH, with staff notation and a piano.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- OLD HUNDREDTH
- Words
- John Cennick
- Music
- Louis Bourgeois
The solfa with the words
| dBe---dpres--t,ent- | l,at-s,our-dta--rble,- |
| mLord;---mBe--- | mhere-mand-rev--d’ry-- |
| fwhere-ma--rdored;--- | dThese---rmer--mcies- |
| rbless,-dand-l,grant-t,that- | dwe---sMay--- |
| mfeast-din-rfel--flow-- | mship-rwith-dthee.--- |
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 G · 4/4
| d - - - d - t, - | l, - s, - d - r - |Be present at our table,| m - - - m - - - | m - m - r - d - |Lord; Be here and ev’ry| f - m - r - - - | d - - - r - m - |where adored; These mercies| r - d - l, - t, - | d - - - s - - - |bless, and grant that we May| m - d - r - f - | m - r - d - - - |feast in fellowship with thee.Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Before the meal
Be present at our table, Lord;
Be here and everywhere adored;
These mercies bless, and grant that we
May feast in fellowship with thee.
After the meal
We thank thee, Lord, for this our food,
But more because of Jesus’ blood;
Let manna to our souls be given,
The bread of life sent down from heaven.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (G).
- 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. 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 Cennick, an English evangelist, published this grace in 1741, with a second verse for after the meal. It is sung to OLD HUNDREDTH, the tune of the Doxology, which is why so many families and fellowships already know it by heart.
- Words (1741): John Cennick (1718–1755)
- Melody, Genevan Psalter (1551): Louis Bourgeois (1510–1560)
Sung to the same tune: All People That on Earth Do Dwell, Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow (Doxology).
Questions about Be Present at Our Table, Lord
What is the doh of Be Present at Our Table, Lord?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Be Present at Our Table, Lord start on?
It starts on d (G in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Be Present at Our Table, Lord in the public domain?
Yes. John Cennick died in 1755, Louis Bourgeois died in 1560; the words were first published in 1741 and the music in 1551. 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.