Come, All Harmonious Tongues in Tonic Solfa
Come, All Harmonious Tongues in Tonic Solfa to FRANCONIA, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dCome,- | rall-mhar--fmo--snious- | mtongues,-----sYour- |
| lno--d'blest-fmu--msic- | rbring,-----s'Tis- |
| d'Christ-tthe-lev--ser-- | llast--ling-sGod,-sAnd- |
| dChrist-mthe-rman-rwe- | dsing.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- FRANCONIA
- Words
- Isaac Watts
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 · 4/4
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
Come, all harmonious tongues,
Your noblest music bring,
'Tis Christ the everlasting God,
And Christ the man we sing.
Tell how he took our flesh
To take away our guilt,
Sing the dear drops of sacred blood
That hellish monsters spilt.
Alas, the cruel spear
Went deep into his side,
And the rich flood of purple gore
Their murderous weapons dy'd.
The waves of swelling grief
Did o'er his bosom roll,
And mountains of almighty wrath
Lay heavy on his soul.
Down to the shades of death
He bow'd his awful head,
Yet he arose to live and reign
When death itself is dead.
No more the bloody spear,
The cross and nails no more;
For hell itself shakes at his Name,
And all the heavens adore.
There the Redeemer sits
High on the Father's throne;
The Father lays his vengeance by,
And smiles upon his Son.
There his full glories shine
With uncreated rays,
And bless his saints' and angels' eyes
To everlasting days.
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 “Come”, 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 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
Isaac Watts wrote these words for his Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), Book II, composed on divine subjects, hymn 84, headed “The same”.
Watts' hymns were printed without tunes and sung to any tune of their metre, Short Metre (6.6.8.6). This page sets the words to FRANCONIA; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words (1707): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1738): Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: "No More, on Earth No More, Behold the Lofty Sky, Blest Are the Pure in Heart, Father, This Slumber Shake, Forever with the Lord, From Egypt Lately Freed, Glad Was My Heart to Hear, God, Who Is Just and Kind, How Sweet to Bless the Lord, How Swift the Torrent Rolls, Jesus Invites His Friends, Jesus, the Friend of Man, Let Every Creature Join, My Father! Cheering Name, O! Know Ye Not That Ye, Our Heavenly Father Calls, Our Lord, Who Knows Full Well, Saviour, Thy Law We Love, Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud, The Lord on High Proclaims, The Year Begins with Thee, This Soul Reviving Wine, To God the Only Wise, Well, the Redeemer's Gone, Within the Father's House.
Questions about Come, All Harmonious Tongues
What is the doh of Come, All Harmonious Tongues?
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 Come, All Harmonious Tongues start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Come” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Come, All Harmonious Tongues in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, Johann Balthasar König died in 1758; the words were first published in 1707 and the music in 1738. 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.