O, Not Alone with Outward Sign in Tonic Solfa

O, Not Alone with Outward Sign in Tonic Solfa to ALL SAINTS, NEW, doh is Bb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 2 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is Bb4/4
sO,-mnot--fa-slone-d'with-d'out---twardtsign-d'Of-
r'fear,-m'or-f'voice-m'from-r'heaven,-----r'The-
m'mes---r'saged'of-ta-ttruth--ldi-lvine,-lThe-
scall-d'of-tGod,--d'isd'given;-----d'Awak--
d'en--d'ing-tin-tthe-lhu---lmanlheart-lLove-
sfor-sthe-sTrue-sand-sRight,-----fZeal-
mfor--fthesChrist--d'ian's-d'bet---ttertpart,-d'Strength-
m'for-r'the-d'Christ--tian's-d'fight.-----

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Key
Bb major
Doh
Bb
Time
4/4
Starts on
s (F)
Range
m to f' (D to E♭, a ninth)
Tune
ALL SAINTS, NEW
Words
John Greenleaf Whittier
Music
Henry Stephen Cutler

Tune ALL SAINTS, NEW by Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902); words by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). 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

| s - O,| m - - f s - d' - not alone with| d' - - t t - d' - |outward sign Of
| r' - m' - f' - m' - fear, or voice from| r' - - - - - r' - |heaven, The
| m' - - r' d' - t - message of a| t - - l l - l - |truth divine, The
| s - d' - t - - d' call of God, is| d' - - - - - d' - |given; Awak-
| d' - d' - t - t - ening in the| l - - l l - l - |human heart Love
| s - s - s - s - for the True and| s - - - - - f - |Right, Zeal
| m - - f s - d' - for the Christian's| d' - - t t - d' - |better part, Strength
| m' - r' - d' - t - for the Christian's| d' - - - - - |fight.

Staff notation

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

The words

O, not alone with outward sign
Of fear, or voice from heaven,
The message of a truth divine,
The call of God, is given;
Awakening in the human heart
Love for the True and Right,
Zeal for the Christian's better part,
Strength for the Christian's fight.

Though heralded by naught of fear,
Or outward sign, or show;
Though only to the inward ear
It whisper soft and low;
Though dropping as the manna fell,
Unseen, yet from above,
Holy and gentle, heed it well, —
The call to Truth and Love.

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 s (F), on the word “O”, 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 Greenleaf Whittier wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 198, “The Call”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ALL SAINTS, NEW; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.

Tune ALL SAINTS, NEW by Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902); words by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892).

Sung to the same tune: All Nature's Works His Praise Declare, Amid Surrounding Gloom and Waste, Father, When O'er Our Trembling Hearts, God of All Grace and Majesty, I Looked upon the Righteous Man, Jesus, My Master and My Lord, Lord, Soothe My Anxious, Troubled Soul, Now Gird Your Patient Loins Again, O Where Are Kings and Empires Now, O, Who Shall See the Glorious Day, Oh! Not Alone with Outward Sign, Our Pathway Oft Is Wet with Tears, The Aged Sufferer Waited Long, Thy Servants in the Temple Watched, When, on Devotion's Seraph Wing.

Questions about O, Not Alone with Outward Sign

What is the doh of O, Not Alone with Outward Sign?

In this version, in Bb major, 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 O, Not Alone with Outward Sign start on?

It starts on s (F in Bb major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is O, Not Alone with Outward Sign in the public domain?

Yes. John Greenleaf Whittier died in 1892, Henry Stephen Cutler died in 1902; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1872. 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 John Greenleaf Whittier

Everything by John Greenleaf Whittier (8 hymns)

More by Henry Stephen Cutler

Everything by Henry Stephen Cutler (16 hymns and 1 hymn tune)