Savior When in Dust to Thee in Tonic Solfa
Savior When in Dust to Thee in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D minor
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- l, (D)
- Range
- s, to l (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- ABERYSTWYTH (PARRY)
- Words
- Robert Grant
- Music
- Joseph Parry
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ABERYSTWYTH (PARRY) by Joseph Parry (1841–1903); words by Robert Grant (1778–1838). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| l,Sa--l,vior,t,_dwhenr_min- | ddust-t,to-l,Thee--- |
| dLow-t,we-l,bow-se,th'a-- | l,dor-t,_ding-t,knee,--- |
| l,When,-l,re-t,_dpent-r_mant,- | dto-t,the-l,skies--- |
| t,Scarce-dwer_mlift-rour- | dweep--t,ing-l,eyes,--- |
| l,O-s,by-l,all-t,the- | dpains-mandr_dwoes--- |
| dSuff--t,ered-donce-rfor- | mman-sbe-fe_mlow,--- |
| lBend--ling-sfrom-mThy- | dthrone-ron-mhigh,--- |
| l,Hear-l,ourt,_dpen-r_mi-- | dten--t,tial-l,cry!--- |
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 WhatsApp message to the choir.
Doh is F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D minor, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Savior, when in dust to Thee
Low we bow th'adoring knee,
When, repentant, to the skies
Scarce we lift our weeping eyes,
O by all the pains and woes
Suffered once for man below,
Bending from Thy throne on high,
Hear our penitential cry!
By Thy helpless infant years,
By Thy life of want and tears,
By Thy days of sore distress
In the savage wilderness,
By the dread mysterious hour
Of th'insulting tempter's pow'r,
Turn, O turn a fav'ring eye,
Hear our penitential cry!
By the sacred griefs that wept
O'er the grave where Laz'rus slept,
By the boding tears that flowed
Over Salem's loved abode,
By the anguished sigh that told
Treachery lurked within Thy fold,
From Thy seat above the sky,
Hear our penitential cry!
By Thine hour of dire despair,
By Thine agony of prayer,
By the cross, the nail, the thorn,
Piercing spear, and torturing scorn,
By the gloom that veiled the skies
O'er the dreadful sacrifice,
Listen to our humble cry,
Hear our penitential cry!
By Thy deep expiring groan,
By the sad sepulchral stone,
By the vault whose dark abode
Held in vain the rising God,
O from earth to heaven restored,
Mighty, reascended Lord,
Listen, listen to the sigh
Of our penitential cry!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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, (D).
- 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 s l t and the chromatic se fe. 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
The words are by Robert Grant, first published in 1815. The tune, ABERYSTWYTH (PARRY), is by Joseph Parry (1879). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1815): Robert Grant (1778–1838)
- Music (1879): Joseph Parry (1841–1903)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ABERYSTWYTH (PARRY) by Joseph Parry (1841–1903); words by Robert Grant (1778–1838). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this hymn as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Questions about Savior When in Dust to Thee
What is the doh of Savior When in Dust to Thee?
In this version, in D minor, doh is F. 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 Savior When in Dust to Thee start on?
It starts on l, (D in D minor). Find doh first, then sing up or down to l,.
Is Savior When in Dust to Thee in the public domain?
Yes. Robert Grant died in 1838, Joseph Parry died in 1903; the words were first published in 1815 and the music in 1879. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in Nigeria, the UK, the EU and the United States. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.