Jesus Invites His Saints in Tonic Solfa

Jesus Invites His Saints in Tonic Solfa to AYLESBURY, doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is Ab4/4
l,Je----msus-rin--dvites-t,his-l,saints---
mTo---smeet-fa--mround-rhis-mboard;---
__dHere-t,par--l,don'd-mre--dbels-rsit,-dand-
t,hold-l,Com--mmu--rnion-dwith---t,their---
l,Lord.-------

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Key
F minor
Doh
Ab
Time
4/4
Starts on
l, (F)
Range
l, to s (F to E♭, a seventh)
Tune
AYLESBURY
Words
Isaac Watts
Music
From John Chetham's Psalmody, 1718

Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune AYLESBURY (From John Chetham's Psalmody, 1718); 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 Ab · 4/4

| l, - - - m - r - Jesus in-| d - t, - l, - - - |vites his saints
| m - - - s - f - To meet a-| m - r - m - - - |round his board;
| _ _ d - t, - l, - Here pardon'd| m - d - r - d - |rebels sit, and
| t, - l, - m - r - hold Communion| d - - - t, - - - |with their
| l, - - - - - - - |Lord.

Staff notation

The melody on the treble staff in F minor, with the first verse under the notes.

The words

Jesus invites his saints
To meet around his board;
Here pardon'd rebels sit, and hold
Communion with their Lord.

For food he gives his flesh,
He bids us drink his blood,
Amazing favour! matchless grace
Of our descending God!

This holy bread and wine
Maintains our fainting breath,
By union with our living Lord,
And interest in his death.

Our heavenly Father calls
Christ and his members one;
We the young children of his love,
And he the first-born Son.

We are but several parts
Of the same broken bread;
One body hath its several limbs,
But Jesus is the head.

Let all our powers be join'd
His glorious Name to raise;
Pleasure and love fill every mind,
And every voice be praise.

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 l, (F).
  • 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 III, prepared for the Lord's Supper, hymn 2, headed “Communion with Christ, and with saints, 1 Cor. 10. 16 17”.

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 AYLESBURY; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.

  • Words (1707): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
  • Melody (1718): From John Chetham's Psalmody, 1718

Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune AYLESBURY (From John Chetham's Psalmody, 1718); 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: "Blest Are the Meek," He Said, "Is This a Fast for Me?", And Will the God of Grace, Behold, the Grace Appears, Beside the Gospel Pool, Breathe on Me, Breath of God, Come at the Morning Hour, Come, Holy Ghost, in Might, Commit Thou All Thy Griefs, Far from These Scenes of Night, Father, I Will Not Pray, Great God, at Thy Command, How Heavy Is the Night, How Sweet the Melting Lay, I Hear the Voice of Woe, I Love Thy Church, O God, I Love Thy Zion, Lord, I Would, but Cannot Sing, Lord Jesus, Come! for Here, Lord, in the Strength of Grace, Mine Eyes and My Desire, My Former Hopes Are Dead, Now Is the Day of Grace, O Bless the Lord, My Soul, O Lord! Through Thee We Own, O the Almighty Lord, O, for the Death of Those, See What a Living-stone, Shall We Go on to Sin, Sing to the Lord Aloud, That Blessed Law of Thine, The Best That Heaven Could Bring, The Hours of Evening Close, The Lord My Shepherd Is, The Savior Kindly Calls, Thou One Begotten Son, Thy Name, Almighty Lord, Thy Word Invites Us Nigh, Tossed on the Sea of Life, We Lift Our Hearts to Thee, Welcome, Sweet Day of Rest, When Overwhelmed with Grief, When Shall Thy Love Constrain.

Questions about Jesus Invites His Saints

What is the doh of Jesus Invites His Saints?

In this version, in F minor, 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 Jesus Invites His Saints start on?

It starts on l, (F in F minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.

Is Jesus Invites His Saints in the public domain?

Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748; the words were first published in 1707 and the music in 1718. 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.

More by Isaac Watts

Everything by Isaac Watts (628 hymns)