Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise in Tonic Solfa
Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise in Tonic Solfa to MESSIAH (HERALD), doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mBless---ring,dhon--dour,- | fthanks,--mandrpraise,--- |
| sPay--lwe,lgra--scious- | mGod,-dto-rthee;--- |
| mThou,--rindthine-da-- | fbun---mdantrgrace,--- |
| sGiv---lestsus-mthe- | rvic---dto-dry;--- |
| t,True--dandrfaith--fful- | mto--rthydword,--- |
| rThou--mhastfglo--lri-- | sfied--fthymSon,--- |
| mJe---rsusdChrist,-dour- | fdy---mingrLord,--- |
| sHe--lforsus-mthe- | rfight--dhathdwon.--- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- t, to l (E to D, a seventh)
- Tune
- MESSIAH (HERALD)
- Words
- Charles Wesley, John Wesley
Tune MESSIAH (HERALD) by Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined) and George Kingsley (died undefined); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791). 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
Blessing, honour, thanks, and praise,
Pay we, gracious God, to thee;
Thou, in thine abundant grace,
Givest us the victory;
True and faithful to thy word,
Thou hast glorified thy Son,
Jesus Christ, our dying Lord,
He for us the fight hath won.
Lo! the prisoner is released,
Lightened of his fleshly load;
Where the weary are at rest,
He is gathered into God;
Lo! the pain of life is past,
All his warfare now is o'er,
Death and hell behind are cast,
Grief and suffering are no more.
Yes, the Christian's course is run,
Ended is the glorious strife;
Fought the fight, the work is done,
Death is swallowed up of life!
Borne by angels on their wings,
Far from earth the spirit flies,
Finds his God, and sits and sings,
Triumphing in Paradise.
Join we then, with one accord,
In the new, the joyful song;
Absent from our loving Lord
We shall not continue long;
We shall quit the house of clay,
We a better lot shall share,
We shall see the realms of day,
Meet our happy brother there.
Let the world bewail their dead,
Fondly of their loss complain,
Brother, friend, by Jesus freed,
Death to thee, to us, is gain;
Thou art entered into joy:
Let the unbelievers mourn;
We in songs our lives employ,
Till we all to God return.
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 m (A).
- 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 Wesley printed these words in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 50. They first appeared in a book he and his brother Charles published together, and the Collection's own index cannot say which of the two wrote them.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), and this page sets them to MESSIAH (HERALD); any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Words: John Wesley (1703–1791)
- Music (1839): Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined)
- Arranged (1839): George Kingsley (died undefined)
Tune MESSIAH (HERALD) by Louis J. F. Herold (died undefined) and George Kingsley (died undefined); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791).
Sung to the same tune: 'Tis My Happiness Below, Bound upon the Accursed Tree, Come, and Let Us Sweetly Join, Faint the Earth, and Parched with Drought, God of Love, We Look to Thee, Grace, Triumphant in the Throne, Happy Man Whom God Doth Aid, Happy Soul Who Sees the Day, Hark! How Time's Wide Sounding Bell, Jesus, We Thy Promise Claim, Let the Beasts Their Breath Resign, Lord! Thou Didst Arise and Say, Oft in Vain the Voice of Truth, Sinner, Art Thou Still Secure.
Questions about Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise
What is the doh of Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise?
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 Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise start on?
It starts on m (A in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Blessing, Honour, Thanks, and Praise in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Wesley died in 1791, Louis J. F. Herold died in undefined, George Kingsley died in undefined; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1839. 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.