Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime in Tonic Solfa
Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime in Tonic Solfa to ELLERS, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| s,Go---s,to-l,the- | s,grave---din--- |
| dall-t,thy-dglo--rrious- | mprime,------- |
| dIn---dfull-rac-- | dtiv----mi---- |
| mty-rof-mzeal-feand- | spower:------- |
| sA---dChris--dtian- | fcan----fnot--- |
| fdie-rbe--mfore-fhis- | mtime;------- |
| dThe---rLord's-dap-- | dpoint----l,ment--- |
| s,is-s,the-l,ser--s,vant's- | s,hour.------- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s, (E♭)
- Range
- s, to s (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- ELLERS
- Words
- James Montgomery
- Music
- Edward John Hopkins
Tune ELLERS by Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854). 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 · 4/4
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
Go to the grave in all thy glorious prime,
In full activity of zeal and power:
A Christian cannot die before his time;
The Lord's appointment is the servant's hour.
Go to the grave; at noon from labor cease;
Rest on thy sheaves, thy harvest work is done;
Come from the heat of battle, and in peace,
Soldier, go home; with thee the field is won.
Go to the grave, for there thy Saviour lay,
In death's embraces, ere he rose on high;
And all the ransomed, by that narrow way,
Pass to eternal life beyond the sky.
Go to the grave, — no, to thy home above;
Be thy pure spirit present with the Lord,
Where thou for faith and hope hast perfect love,
And open vision for the written word.
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 s, (E♭).
- 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 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
James Montgomery wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 408, “Death in Manhood”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Tens (10.10.10.10), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ELLERS; any other Tens tune fits them as well.
- Words: James Montgomery (1771–1854)
- Music (1869): Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901)
Tune ELLERS by Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901); words by James Montgomery (1771–1854).
Sung to the same tune: O Thou Great Friend to All the Sons of Men, O Thou, the Primal Fount of Life and Peace, Restore, O Father! to Our Times Restore, Saviour, Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise.
Questions about Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime
What is the doh of Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime?
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 Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime start on?
It starts on s, (E♭ in Ab major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is Go to the Grave in All Thy Glorious Prime in the public domain?
Yes. James Montgomery died in 1854, Edward John Hopkins died in 1901; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1869. 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.