On the Dewy Breath of Even in Tonic Solfa
On the Dewy Breath of Even in Tonic Solfa to GALILEE (JUDE), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mOns,the | rdew--ry-rbreaths,of | de--dven-dThou-dsand | do---l,dorsdmin-rgling | mrise,---mBornel,like |
| rin--rcense-rups,to | dhea--dven,-mNa-mture's | feve--l,ning-msac-rri- | dfice.--- |
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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
- Anonymous
- Music
- William Herbert Jude
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by Anonymous. 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
On the dewy breath of even
Thousand odors mingling rise,
Borne like incense up to heaven, —
Nature's evening sacrifice.
With her fragrant offerings blending,
Let our glad thanksgivings be
To Thy throne, O Lord, ascending, —
Incense of our hearts to Thee.
Thou, whose favors without number
All our days with gladness bless,
Let Thine eye, that knows no slumber,
Guard our hours of helplessness.
Then, though conscious we are sleeping
In the outer courts of death,
Safe beneath a Father's keeping,
Calm we rest in perfect faith.
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 “On”, 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
These words were printed without an author's name 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 554, “Evening Hymn”, where the book credits them to Martineau's Collection.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Eights and Sevens (8.7.8.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to GALILEE (JUDE); any other Eights and Sevens tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1887): William Herbert Jude (1851–1922)
Tune GALILEE (JUDE) by William Herbert Jude (1851–1922); words by Anonymous.
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, Lo, the Day, the Day Approacheth, Lord, a Band of Foes Increasing, Praise the Lord, When Blushing Morning, Soldier, to the Contest Pressing.
Questions about On the Dewy Breath of Even
What is the doh of On the Dewy Breath of Even?
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 On the Dewy Breath of Even start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major), a pickup on the word “On” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is On the Dewy Breath of Even in the public domain?
Yes. William Herbert Jude died in 1922; the words were in print by 1866 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.