But We from Such Assaults Are Freed in Tonic Solfa
But We from Such Assaults Are Freed in Tonic Solfa to MERIBAH, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dBut--- | mwe--mfrommsuch-ras--msaults-fare- | sfreed,-------mCan--- |
| lpray,--landlsing,-sand-fhear,-mand- | rread,-------sAnd--- |
| tmeet,-land-spart,---fein--- | speace:-------sMay--- |
| d'we-sour-spriv--mi--fle--lges- | sprize,-------sIn--- |
| d'their-sim--sprove--mment-fmake-lus- | swise,-------dAnd--- |
| rbless-fus-mwith---rin---- | dcrease.------- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- MERIBAH
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); 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 Eb · 3/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
But we from such assaults are freed,
Can pray, and sing, and hear, and read,
And meet, and part, in peace:
May we our privileges prize,
In their improvement make us wise,
And bless us with increase.
Unless thy presence thou afford;
Unless thy blessing clothe the word,
In vain our liberty!
What would it profit to maintain
A name for life, should we remain
Formal and dead to thee?
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (E♭), on the word “But”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/2 means three minim 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 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 III, hymn 95, “Often thy public means of grace, Thy thirsty people's wat'ring place, The archers have beset; Judg 5:11 Attacked them in thy house of prayer, To prison dragged, or to the bar, When thus together met”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Particular Metre (8.8.6.8.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MERIBAH; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Music (1839): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: At Early Dawn, with Pious Thought, Be It My Only Wisdom Here, Blinded in Youth by Satan's Arts, Except the Lord Conduct the Plan, How Happy, Gracious Lord! Are We, If Solid Happiness We Prize, Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art, Lord, Thou Hast Won, at Length I Yield, May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfil, O God of Life, in Whom We Live, O Lord! How Happy Should We Be, O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art, O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth, The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come, Thou God of Glorious Majesty, When, Lord, to This Our Western Land.
Questions about But We from Such Assaults Are Freed
What is the doh of But We from Such Assaults Are Freed?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 But We from Such Assaults Are Freed start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “But” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is But We from Such Assaults Are Freed in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1779 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.