Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father in Tonic Solfa
Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father in Tonic Solfa to GALILEE (JUDE), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mBless,s,O | rbless,-rAl--rmight-s,y | dFa--dther,-dWom-dan's | dmis---l,siondwithrour | mrace,---mHerl,fond |
| rstriv--rings-rheres,to | dga--dther-mFruitsmof | fthy-l,re--mdeem-ring | dgrace.--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (C)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- GALILEE (JUDE)
- Words
- John Greenleaf Adams
- Music
- William Herbert Jude
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by John Greenleaf Adams (1810–1887). 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 Ab · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Ab major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Bless, O bless, Almighty Father,
Woman's mission with our race, —
Her fond strivings here to gather
Fruits of thy redeeming grace.
Though her way be not where honor
Wins the gazing world's acclaim,
Yet we bless thee that upon her
Rests the power of Jesus' name.
In that name, O Father, strengthen
Her full heart and ready hands;
May her efforts serve to lengthen
Christian love's encircling bands.
Where the mourning and the needy
And the suffering faint and die,
Be her presence sure and speedy,
Mercy's blessings to supply.
Where old error's words are spoken,
Be truth's witness by her given,
Till, the spell of bondage broken,
Earth redeemed resembles heaven.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Ab 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 m (C), on the word “Bless”, 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 f s l. 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 Greenleaf Adams wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 997 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"She hath done what she could." Mark 14:8”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Eights and Sevens (8.7.8.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to GALILEE (JUDE); any other Eights and Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Greenleaf Adams (1810–1887)
- Music (1887): William Herbert Jude (1851–1922)
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by John Greenleaf Adams (1810–1887).
Sung to the same tune: Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal, From the Table Now Retiring, In the Cross of Christ We Glory, Jesus Calls Us o’er the Tumult, Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth, Lord, a Band of Foes Increasing, On the Dewy Breath of Even, Praise the Lord, When Blushing Morning, Soldier, to the Contest Pressing.
Questions about Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father
What is the doh of Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father?
In this version, in Ab major, doh is Ab. 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 Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major), a pickup on the word “Bless” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father in the public domain?
Yes. John Greenleaf Adams died in 1887, William Herbert Jude died in 1922; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1887. 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.