Bleak Winter Is Subdued at Length in Tonic Solfa
Bleak Winter Is Subdued at Length in Tonic Solfa to YORK, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 9 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dBleak- | mwin--ster-fis-lsub-- | mdued-sat-rlength,-rAnd- |
| mforced-sto-syield-fethe- | sday;-----dThe- |
| msun-shas-fwait--led- | mall-shis-rstrength,-sAnd- |
| fdri--mven-rhim-ra-- | dway.----- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (F)
- Range
- d to l (F to D, a sixth)
- Tune
- YORK
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Scottish Psalter
Tune YORK (Scottish Psalter); words by John Newton (1725–1807). 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 F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Bleak winter is subdued at length,
And forced to yield the day;
The sun has waited all his strength,
And driven him away.
And now long wished for spring is come,
How altered is the scene!
The trees and shrubs are dressed in bloom,
The earth arrayed in green.
Where'er we tread, beneath our feet
The clust'ring flowers spring;
The artless birds, in concert sweet,
Invite our hearts to sing.
But ah! in vain I strive to join,
Oppressed with sin and doubt;
I feet 'tis winter still, within,
Though all is spring without.
O! would my Savior from on high,
Break through these clouds and shine!
No creature then, more blest than I,
No song more loud than mine.
Till then--no softly warbling thrush,
Nor cowslip's sweet perfume;
Nor beauties of each painted bush,
Can dissipate my gloom.
To Adam, soon as he transgressed,
Thus Eden bloomed in vain;
Not paradise could give him rest,
Or soothe his heart-felt pain.
Yet here an emblem I perceive
Of what the Lord can do;
Dear Savior, help me to believe
That I may flourish too.
Thy word can soon my hopes revive,
Can overcome my foes;
And make my languid graces thrive,
And blossom like the rose.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (F), on the word “Bleak”, 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 and the chromatic 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 Newton wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book II, hymn 32, “Spring”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre (8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to YORK; any other Common Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Melody (1615): Scottish Psalter
Tune YORK (Scottish Psalter); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: Affliction Is a Stormy Deep, Again the Lord of Life and Light, All Men Are Equal in Their Birth, Almighty God, Thy Word Is Cast, Almighty God! Thy Wondrous Works, Am I an Israelite Indeed, And Is This Life Prolong'd to Me, And Now, My Soul, Another Year, Another Hand Is Beckoning Us, Attend While God's Exalted Son, Author of Good, to Thee We Turn, Backward with Humble Shame We Look, Be Thou, O God, by Night, by Day, Before Thy Cross We Take Our Place, Behold the Sure Foundation-stone, Behold, on Zion's Heavenly Shore, Bitter, Indeed, the Waters Are, Bless'd Morning, Whose Young Dawning Rays, Come Happy Souls, Approach Your God, Come, Children, Learn to Fear the Lord, Father in Heaven, to Thee My Heart, Father of Mercies, in Thy Word, For Ever Here My Rest Shall Be, Forth Went the Heralds of the Cross, Fountain of Mercy, God of Love, From Pole to Pole Let Others Roam, God Moves in a Mysterious Way, God of My Life, Look Gently Down, Good Is the Lord, the Heavenly King, Great God, with Wonder and with Praise, Great God! to Me the Sight Afford, Great Is the Lord; His Works of Might, Hail! Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Happy Are They, to Whom the Lord, Help, Lord, for Men of Virtue Fail, Here at Bethesda's Pool, the Poor, How Are Thy Servants Blest, O Lord, How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts, How Sweet, How Calm, This Sabbath Morn, I Set the Lord Before My Face, I Want a Principle Within, I Was a Groveling Creature Once, In All My Vast Concerns with Thee, In Trouble and in Grief, O God, In Vain My Fancy Strives to Paint, Incarnate God! the Soul That Knows, Indulgent God, Whose Bounteous Care, It Is a Faith Sublime and Sure, Jehovah God! Thy Gracious Power, Jesus His Empire Shall Extend, Let Others Boast How Strong They Be, Life Is a Span, — a Fleeting Hour, Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care, Lord, We Confess Our Numerous Faults, Manna to Israel Well Supplied, Millions of Souls, in Glory Now, My God, the Steps of Pious Men, My God! How Perfect Are Thy Ways, My Never-ceasing Songs Shall Show, Now Let Our Prayers Ascend to Thee, O 'Tis a Lovely Thing to See, O God of Mercy! Hear My Call, O God, I Love Thee, Not Alone, O God, My Refuge, Hear My Cries, O Lord, My Best Desire Fulfill, O, Speed Thee, Christian, on Thy Way, Our Father! Through the Coming Year, Sin Has a Thousand Treacherous Arts, So Did the Hebrew Prophet Raise, Surpassing Great the Gift of God, Teach Me the Measure of My Days, Terrible Thought! Shall I Alone, The Book of Nature Open Lies, The Castle of the Human Heart, The Hoary Frost, the Fleecy Snow, The King, O Lord, with Songs of Praise, The Lord Ascended into Heaven, The Men Who Slight Thy Faithful Word, The Radiance of the Brightness, The Subtle Spider Often Weaves, The Winds Are Hushed; the Peaceful Moon, Thee, Jesus, Full of Truth and Grace, Thou Art the Way; to Thee Alone, Through Thee as We Together Came, Thus Saith the Lord Who Built the Heavens, Thus Saith the Lord, "the Spacious Fields, Thus Saith the Mercy of the Lord, Thy Kingdom, Lord, Forever Stands, We Love the Venerable House, What Shall I Render to My God, When All Thy Mercies, O My God, When God Reveal'd His Gracious Name, When Israel Sins, the Lord Reproves, When the Poor Pris'ner Through a Grate, While Men Grow Bold in Wicked Ways, Why Should This Earth Delight Us So, With My Whole Heart I've Sought Thy Face, Ye Sons of Men, a Feeble Race, Ye Sons of Pride, That Hate the Just, Zeal Is That Pure and Heavenly Flame, Zion Rejoice, and Judah Sing.
Questions about Bleak Winter Is Subdued at Length
What is the doh of Bleak Winter Is Subdued at Length?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Bleak Winter Is Subdued at Length start on?
It starts on d (F in F major), a pickup on the word “Bleak” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Bleak Winter Is Subdued at Length in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1615. 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.