Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud in Tonic Solfa
Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud in Tonic Solfa to FRANCONIA, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dShall- | rwis--mdom-fcry-sa-- | mloud-----sAnd- |
| lnot-d'her-fspeech-mbe- | rheard?-----sThe- |
| d'voice-tof-lGod's-se-- | lter--lnal-sword,-sDe-- |
| dserves-mit-rno-rre-- | dgard?----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- FRANCONIA
- Words
- Isaac Watts
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). 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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Shall wisdom cry aloud
And not her speech be heard?
The voice of God's eternal word,
Deserves it no regard?
"I was his chief delight,
"His everlasting Son,
"Before the first of all his works,
"Creation, was begun.
"Before the flying clouds,
"Before the solid land,
"Before the fields, before the floods,
"I dwelt at his right hand.
"When he adorn'd the skies,
"And built them I was there
"To order where the sun should rise,
"And marshal every star.
"When he pour'd out the sea,
"And spread the flowing deep,
"I gave the flood a firm decree,
"In its own bounds to keep.
"Upon the empty air
The earth was balanc'd well;
"With joy I saw the mansion where
"The sons of men should dwell.
"My busy thoughts at first
"On their salvation ran,
"Ere sin was born, or Adam's dust
"Was fashioned to a man.
"Then come, receive my grace,
"Ye children, and be wise;
"Happy the man that keeps my ways;
"The man that shuns them dies."
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 d (E♭), on the word “Shall”, 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
Isaac Watts wrote these words for his Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), Book I, collected from the Scriptures, hymn 92, headed “Christ the wisdom of God, Prov. 8. 1 22-32”.
Watts' hymns were printed without tunes and sung to any tune of their metre, Short Metre (6.6.8.6). This page sets the words to FRANCONIA; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words (1707): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Music (1738): Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: "No More, on Earth No More, Behold the Lofty Sky, Blest Are the Pure in Heart, Come, All Harmonious Tongues, Father, This Slumber Shake, Forever with the Lord, From Egypt Lately Freed, Glad Was My Heart to Hear, God, Who Is Just and Kind, How Sweet to Bless the Lord, How Swift the Torrent Rolls, Jesus Invites His Friends, Jesus, the Friend of Man, Let Every Creature Join, My Father! Cheering Name, O! Know Ye Not That Ye, Our Heavenly Father Calls, Our Lord, Who Knows Full Well, Saviour, Thy Law We Love, The Lord on High Proclaims, The Year Begins with Thee, This Soul Reviving Wine, To God the Only Wise, Well, the Redeemer's Gone, Within the Father's House.
Questions about Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud
What is the doh of Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Shall” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748, Johann Balthasar König died in 1758; the words were first published in 1707 and the music in 1738. 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.