Brother, Will You Slight the Message in Tonic Solfa
Brother, Will You Slight the Message in Tonic Solfa to ST. AUSTIN, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mBro---mther,mwill-ryou- | fslight-mthe-rmes--dsage- |
| rSent--rinrmer--l,cy- | dfrom-t,a--l,bove?--- |
| mEv---merymsen--rtence,- | fO-mhow-rten--dder,- |
| rEv---reryrline-l,how- | dfull-t,of-l,love!--- |
| fHeav---fenlyfac--mcents- | rFull--rofrstrength-l,and- |
| dpeace---t,and--- | l,love!------- |
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- Key
- D minor
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- l, to f (D to B♭, a sixth)
- Tune
- ST. AUSTIN
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Gregorian Chant, Bristol Tune Book
Tune ST. AUSTIN (Gregorian Chant, Bristol Tune Book); words by Anonymous. 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 D minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Brother, will you slight the message
Sent in mercy from above?
Every sentence, O how tender,
Every line how full of love!
Heavenly accents
Full of strength and peace and love!
Tempted souls, they bring you succor;
Fearful hearts, they quell your fears;
And with deepest consolation
Chase away the falling tears;
Tender heralds,
Blessed he their word who hears!
Holy angels, hovering round us!
Waiting spirits! speed your way,
Hasten to the court of heaven,
Tidings bear without delay,
That our spirits
Glad the message will obey.
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 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
These words were printed without an author's name in the supplement of the 1866 edition of A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1866), as hymn 511, “Calls of the Spirit”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked 8.7.8.7.4.7, to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ST. AUSTIN; any other 8.7.8.7.4.7 tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Melody: Gregorian Chant
- Melody (1876): Bristol Tune Book
Tune ST. AUSTIN (Gregorian Chant, Bristol Tune Book); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: Come to Jesus, O My Brothers, Come, Thou Soul-transforming Spirit, Yes, We Trust the Day Is Breaking, Zion Stands with Hills Surrounded.
Questions about Brother, Will You Slight the Message
What is the doh of Brother, Will You Slight the Message?
In this version, in D minor, 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 Brother, Will You Slight the Message start on?
It starts on m (A in D minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Brother, Will You Slight the Message in the public domain?
Yes. the words were in print by 1866 and the music in 1876. 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.