Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth in Tonic Solfa
Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth in Tonic Solfa to GALILEE (JUDE), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 12 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mLo,s,the | rday,-rthe-rdays,ap- | dproa--dcheth-dWhendthe | djust--l,shalldrestrin | mpeace,---mWhenl,the |
| rpa--rtient-rsoulss,shall | dtri--dumph,-mAndmthe | fvile-l,from-mtrou-rbling | dcease.--- |
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- Key
- Ab major
- Doh
- Ab
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (C)
- Range
- s, to f (E♭ to D♭, a seventh)
- Tune
- GALILEE (JUDE)
- Words
- Traditional Latin, John Brownlie
- Music
- William Herbert Jude
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). 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 · 3/4
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
Lo, the day, the day approacheth
When the just shall rest in peace,
When the patient souls shall triumph,
And the vile from troubling cease.
Day of life, who can abide it?
Day of light, unseen before;
Death, the fell destroyer, dieth,
Night and darkness are no more.
See He comes whom ages longed for—
Long expected King of kings—
Now He tarries not, and with Him
All His great salvation brings.
O how blessed! O how joyful!
O what sweetness it shall be!
When the eyes of those who loved Him
Shall their Lord and Master see.
Jesus then with sweet affection,
And in tones of tenderest love,
Shall invite His faithful people
To the joys prepared above.
“Ye who held My truth unsullied,
Faithful stood in world of sin,
Suffered for the name ye honoured,
See the joys ye sought to win.
“See the heavenly kingdom promised,
Long reserved, but now revealed;
Now behold it, now possess it,
Now the princely sceptre wield.”
O how sweet our earthly losses,
In the midst of gain like this!
O how vain the world’s possessions,
At the cost of so much bliss!
O how blessèd then the mourners,
Who for Christ earth’s sorrow bore,
By a scornful world neglected!
They shall reign for evermore.
Now no terror grim shall haunt them—
Tears and sorrows are no more;
Grinding want shall ne’er afflict them,
Crippled age nor weakness sore.
Peace eternal there abideth,
Hearts with festive gladness bound;
There is youth with perfect vigour,
And with bloom unfading crowned.
O just Judge! in boundless mercy
Call me heavenward by-and-by,
For my soul is faint with longing,
And I wait with tearful eye.
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 m (C), on the word “Lo”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/4 means three 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. 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 Brownlie translated these words from the Latin hymns of the early Church for Hymns of the Early Church (London, 1896), headed “Appropinquat Enim Dies in Qua Justes Erit Quies”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Eights and Sevens (8.7.8.7), and this page sets them to GALILEE (JUDE); any other Eights and Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Latin
- Translated (1896): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1887): William Herbert Jude (1851–1922)
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by Traditional Latin; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: Bless, O Bless, Almighty Father, Christ, the Light That Shines Eternal, From the Table Now Retiring, In the Cross of Christ We Glory, Jesus Calls Us o’er the Tumult, Lord, a Band of Foes Increasing, On the Dewy Breath of Even, Praise the Lord, When Blushing Morning, Soldier, to the Contest Pressing.
Questions about Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth
What is the doh of Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth?
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 Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major), a pickup on the word “Lo” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, William Herbert Jude died in 1922; the words were in print by 1896 and the music in 1887. 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.