How Blest the Righteous Are in Tonic Solfa
How Blest the Righteous Are in Tonic Solfa to ST. BRIDE, doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| l,How- | m,blest-l,the-dright--t,eous- | l,are-----dWhen- |
| s,they-dre--msign-rtheir- | dbreath!-----mNo- |
| rwon--dder-t,Bal--l,aam- | s,wished-f,to-m,share-mIn- |
| l,such-ra-dhap--t,py- | l,death.----- |
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- Key
- G minor
- Doh
- Bb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (G)
- Range
- m, to m (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ST. BRIDE
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Samuel Howard
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); 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 Bb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
How blest the righteous are
When they resign their breath!
No wonder Balaam wished to share
In such a happy death.
"Oh! let me die, said he,
The death the righteous do;
When life is ended let me be
Found with the faithful few."
The force of truth how great!
When enemies confess,
None but the righteous whom they hate,
A solid hope possess.
But Balaam's wish was vain,
His heart was insincere;
He thirsted for unrighteous gain,
And sought a portion here.
He seemed the Lord to know,
And to offend him loth;
But Mammon proved his overthrow,
For none can serve them both.
May you, my friends, and I,
Warning from hence receive;
If like the righteous we would die,
To choose the life they live.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Bb 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 l, (G), on the word “How”, 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
John Newton wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book I, hymn 20, “Balaam's wish Num 23:10”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Short Metre (6.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ST. BRIDE; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Music (1762): Samuel Howard (died undefined)
Tune ST. BRIDE by Samuel Howard (died undefined); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: All Hail, Life-bearing Cross, Behold What Wondrous Grace, Exalt the Lord Our God, Here, in This Place of Prayer, In Weariness and Pain, Let God the Maker's Name, Let Party Names No More, Let Sinners Take Their Course, Lord What a Feeble Piece, My Saviour and My King, My Soul, Repeat His Praise, Not with Our Mortal Eyes, Now Let Our Voices Join, O Blessed Souls Are They, O Lord, Our Heavenly King, One Sweetly Solemn Thought, Out of the Deep I Call, Raise Your Triumphant Songs, Servants of Christ, Arise, Teach Me, My God and King, The Man Is Ever Blest, The Saviour Gently Calls, The Spirit, in Our Hearts, Thy Love Hath Sweetened Me, We Love This Outward World, When Man Grows Bold in Sin, Where Shall the Man Be Found, Who Has Believ'd Thy Word, Ye Servants of the Lord.
Questions about How Blest the Righteous Are
What is the doh of How Blest the Righteous Are?
In this version, in G minor, doh is Bb. 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 How Blest the Righteous Are start on?
It starts on l, (G in G minor), a pickup on the word “How” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is How Blest the Righteous Are in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, Samuel Howard died in undefined; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1762. 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.