Gracious Redeemer, Shake in Tonic Solfa

Gracious Redeemer, Shake in Tonic Solfa to DIADEMATA, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

dGra--dciousdRe-mdeem--mer,-

lshake-----lThis-

sslum--dber-ffrom-mmy-

rsoul!-----rSay-

mto-sme-lnow,-s"A--

fewake,-ma-r_swake!-d'And-

tChrist-d'shall-lmake-lthee-

swhole."-----sLay-

sto-mthy-rmight--dy-

lhand!-----lA--

llarm-feme-min-rthis-

thour,-----tAnd-

d'make--tmelful--sly-

fun--rder--mstand-sThe-

fthun--mder-rof-rthy-

dpower.-------

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Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: d (D)
Range: d to d' (D to D, an octave)
Tune: DIADEMATA
Words: Charles Wesley
Music: George Job Elvey

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). 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 D · 4/4

| d - d d m - m - Gracious Redeemer,| l - - - - - l - |shake This

| s - d - f - m - slumber from my| r - - - - - r - |soul! Say

| m - s - l - s - to me now, "A-| fe - m r s - d' - |wake, awake! And

| t - d' - l - l - Christ shall make thee| s - - - - - s - |whole." Lay

| s - m - r - d - to thy mighty| l - - - - - l - |hand! A-

| l - fe - m - r - larm me in this| t - - - - - t - |hour, And

| d' - - t l - s - make me fully| f - r - m - s - |understand The

| f - m - r - r - thunder of thy| d - - - - - - - |power.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

Gracious Redeemer, shake
This slumber from my soul!
Say to me now, "Awake, awake!
And Christ shall make thee whole."
Lay to thy mighty hand!
Alarm me in this hour,
And make me fully understand
The thunder of thy power.

Give me on thee to call,
Always to watch and pray,
Lest I into temptation fall,
And cast my shield away;
For each assault prepared
And ready may I be,
For ever standing on my guard,
And looking up to thee.

O do thou always warn
My soul of evil near!
When to the right or left I turn,
Thy voice still let me hear;
"Come back! this is the way,
Come back, and walk herein!"
O may I hearken and obey,
And shun the paths of sin!

Thou seest my feebleness;
Jesus, be thou my power,
My help and refuge in distress,
My fortress and my tower;
Give me to trust in thee.
Be thou my sure abode,
My horn, and rock, and buckler be,
My Saviour, and my God.

Myself I cannot save,
Myself I cannot keep,
But strength in thee I surely have,
Whose eyelids never sleep;
My soul to thee alone
Now therefore I commend;
Thou, Jesus, love me as thy own,
And love me to the end.

How to sing it from the solfa

Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (D).
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

Charles Wesley wrote these words. His brother John printed them in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 305.

The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Short Metre Double (6.6.8.6.6.6.8.6), and this page sets them to DIADEMATA; any other Short Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Melody (1868): George Job Elvey (1816–1893)

Tune DIADEMATA by George Job Elvey (1816–1893); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788).

Sung to the same tune: Ah Whither Should I Go, Ah, When Shall I Awake, And Am I Born to Die, Crown Him with Many Crowns, Equip Me for the War, Father of Boundless Grace, Great Source of Life and Light, Hark! Hark! with Harps of Gold, I Want a Sober Mind, I Was a Wandering Sheep, I Will Not Yield My Sword, In Fellowship, Alone, It Is the Hour of Prayer, Jesu, We Look to Thee, Jesus, My Strength, My Hope, Lord, When at Thy Command, My God, My Strength, My Hope, My Sin Was Very Great, O God, in Mercy Hear, O That I Could Repent, O Thou Who Wouldst Not Have, O Unexhausted Grace, Soldiers of Christ, Arise, Sow in the Morn Thy Seed, Sweet Is the Time of Spring, The Thing My God Doth Hate, We Mourn for Those Who Toil.

Questions about Gracious Redeemer, Shake

What is the doh of Gracious Redeemer, Shake?

In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Gracious Redeemer, Shake start on?

It starts on d (D in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.

Is Gracious Redeemer, Shake in the public domain?

Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, George Job Elvey died in 1893; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1868. 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.