See How Great a Flame Aspires in Tonic Solfa
See How Great a Flame Aspires in Tonic Solfa to HOLLINGSIDE, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mSee-show-lgreat-sa- | sflame--fas-mpires,--- |
| d'Kin--tdled-lby-sa- | mspark-dof-rgrace!--- |
| mJe--ssus'-llove-sthe- | sna---ftionsmfires,--- |
| mSets-fthe-mking--rdoms- | mon--radblaze.--- |
| dTo-fbring-mfire-fon- | taearth-lhe-scame:--- |
| lKin--ldled-tin-d'some- | fhearts-mit-ris:--- |
| mO-sthat-lall-smight- | scatch--fthemflame,--- |
| mAll-fpar--mtake-rthe- | mglo---rriousdbliss!--- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (F♯)
- Range
- d to d' (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- HOLLINGSIDE
- Words
- Charles Wesley
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Tune HOLLINGSIDE by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). 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 D · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
See how great a flame aspires,
Kindled by a spark of grace!
Jesus' love the nations fires,
Sets the kingdoms on a blaze.
To bring fire on earth he came:
Kindled in some hearts it is:
O that all might catch the flame,
All partake the glorious bliss!
When he first the work begun,
Small and feeble was his day:
Now the word doth swiftly run,
Now it wins its widening way:
More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin's strong-holds it now o'erthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.
Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs o'er all the thirsty land!
Lo! the promise of a shower
Drops already from above!
Haste, O Lord, and quickly pour
All the spirit of thy love.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (F♯).
- 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 and the chromatic ta. 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
Charles Wesley wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 306 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “The Progress of the Gospel”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens Double (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to HOLLINGSIDE; any other Sevens Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Music (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Tune HOLLINGSIDE by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788).
Sung to the same tune: A Believer, Free from Care, After All That I Have Done, Depth of Mercy! Can There Be, Does the Gospel-word Proclaim, Fix My Heart and Eyes on Thine, Hark! the Song of Jubilee, Let Us Join, ('Tis God Commands), Let Us Join, as God Commands, Lord, Have Mercy When We Pray, Lord, in Heaven, Thy Dwelling-place, Pilgrim, Burdened with Thy Sin.
Questions about See How Great a Flame Aspires
What is the doh of See How Great a Flame Aspires?
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 See How Great a Flame Aspires start on?
It starts on m (F♯ in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is See How Great a Flame Aspires in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1861. 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.