O Where Are Kings and Empires Now in Tonic Solfa

O Where Are Kings and Empires Now 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-

mwhere--fareskings-d'and-

d'em---tpirestnow-d'Of-

r'old-m'that-f'went-m'and-

r'came?-----r'But-

m'Ho---r'lyd'Church-tis-

tpray---linglyet,-lA-

sthou--d'sand-tyears--d'the

d'same.-----d'Mark-

d'ye-d'her-tho--tly-

lbat---ltle-lments,-lAnd-

sher-sfoun--sda--stions-

sstrong;-----fAnd-

mhear--fwith-sin,-d'her-

d'sol---temntvoice,-d'And-

m'her-r'un--d'end--ting-

d'song.-----

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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: Arthur Cleveland Coxe
Music: Henry Stephen Cutler

Tune ALL SAINTS, NEW by Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902); words by Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896). 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' - where are kings and| d' - - t t - d' - |empires now Of

| r' - m' - f' - m' - old that went and| r' - - - - - r' - |came? But

| m' - - r' d' - t - Holy Church is| t - - l l - l - |praying yet, A

| s - d' - t - - d' thousand years the| d' - - - - - d' - |same. Mark

| d' - d' - t - t - ye her holy| l - - l l - l - |battlements, And

| s - s - s - s - her foundations| s - - - - - f - |strong; And

| m - - f s - d' - hear within, her| d' - - t t - d' - |solemn voice, And

| m' - r' - d' - t - her unending| d' - - - - - |song.

Staff notation

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

The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.

The words

O where are kings and empires now
Of old that went and came?
But Holy Church is praying yet,
A thousand years the same.
Mark ye her holy battlements,
And her foundations strong;
And hear within, her solemn voice,
And her unending song.

For not like kingdoms of the world
The Holy Church of God!
Though earthquake shocks are rocking her,
And tempests are abroad;
Unshaken as eternal hills,
Unmovable she stands, —
A mountain that shall fill the earth,
A fane unbuilt by hands.

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

Arthur Cleveland Coxe wrote these words. They were printed in the supplement of the 1866 edition of A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1866), as hymn 588, “The Church Everlasting”.

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.

Words: Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896)
Music (1872): Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902)

Tune ALL SAINTS, NEW by Henry Stephen Cutler (1825–1902); words by Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896).

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, Not Alone with Outward Sign, 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 Where Are Kings and Empires Now

What is the doh of O Where Are Kings and Empires Now?

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 Where Are Kings and Empires Now 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 Where Are Kings and Empires Now in the public domain?

Yes. Arthur Cleveland Coxe died in 1896, Henry Stephen Cutler died in 1902; the words were in print by 1866 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.