Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face in Tonic Solfa
Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face in Tonic Solfa to MORECAMBE: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the ten verses, and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mHere,---mO-mmy- | fLord,---mI--- |
| lsee-sThee-fface-fto- | mface;------- |
| d'Here---twould-lI- | stouch-sand-lhan---- |
| tdle-s_-lthings-lun-- | sseen;------- |
| sHere---sgrasp-swith- | tfirm----ler--- |
| shand-le--tter--d'nal- | r'grace,------- |
| m'And---r'all-d'my- | twea--lri--sness-d'up-- |
| son---sThee--- | slean.------- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 2/2
- Starts on
- m (E)
- Range
- m to m' (E to E, an octave)
- Tune
- MORECAMBE
- Words
- Horatius Bonar
Tune MORECAMBE by Frederick C. Atkinson (1841–1896); words by Horatius Bonar (1808–1889). 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 C · 2/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;
Here would I touch and handle things unseen;
Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,
And all my weariness upon Thee lean.
Here would I feed upon the bread of God,
Here drink with Thee the royal wine of Heav’n;
Here would I lay aside each earthly load,
Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.
This is the hour of banquet and of song;
This is the heavenly table spread for me;
Here let me feast, and feasting, still prolong
The hallowed hour of fellowship with Thee.
Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear;
The feast, tho’ not the love, is past and gone.
The bread and wine remove; but Thou art here,
Nearer than ever, still my shield and sun.
I have no help but Thine; nor do I need
Another arm save Thine to lean upon;
It is enough, my Lord, enough indeed;
My strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone.
I have no wisdom save in Him who is
My wisdom and my teacher both in One;
No wisdom can I lack while Thou art wise;
No teaching do I crave save Thine alone.
Mine is the sin, but Thine the righteousness:
Mine is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood;
Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace;
Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord my God!
I know that deadly evils compass me,
Dark perils threaten, yet I would not fear,
Nor poorly shrink, nor feebly turn to flee,
Thou, O my Christ, art buckler, sword and spear.
But see, the pillar cloud is rising now,
And moving onward thro’ the desert night;
It beckons, and I follow, for I know
It leads me to the heritage of light.
Feast after feast thus comes and passes by;
Yet, passing, points to the glad feast above,
Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,
The Lamb’s great bridal feast of bliss and love.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (E).
- Count the time. 2/2 means two 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. 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
Horatius Bonar wrote these words in 1855 at the request of his brother, John James Bonar; they were first used in the author’s church in October that year. The tune MORECAMBE is by Frederick C. Atkinson (1870).
- Words (1855): Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)
- Music (1870): Frederick C. Atkinson (1841–1896)
Tune MORECAMBE by Frederick C. Atkinson (1841–1896); words by Horatius Bonar (1808–1889).
Questions about Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face
What is the doh of Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face start on?
It starts on m (E in C major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face in the public domain?
Yes. Horatius Bonar died in 1889, Frederick C. Atkinson died in 1896; the words were first published in 1855 and the music in 1870. 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.