Soldier, to the Contest Pressing in Tonic Solfa
Soldier, to the Contest Pressing in Tonic Solfa to GALILEE (JUDE), doh is Ab: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mSol-s,dier, | rto-rthe-rcon-s,test | dpress--ding,-dOn-dward, | dlet--l,thydwatch-rword | mbe;---mGodl,up- |
| ron-rthee-rpourss,his | dbless--ding;-mWhatmthough | fman-l,de--mri-rdeth | dthee!--- |
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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
Soldier, to the contest pressing,
Onward, let thy watchword be;
God upon thee pours his blessing;
What though man derideth thee!
Onward, though the fagot's burning
By thy pathway's only light;
Onward, death and danger spurning;
Onward in the path of right!
God, for all thy wants providing,
Armor trusty hath for thee;
Gird thyself, in him confiding,
With the goodly panoply:
Righteousness thy breast defending,
And thy feet with justice shod:
Onward; with the foe contending,
Wield thy sword, the word of God.
Thine the helmet of salvation,
Faith thy mighty shield shall be;
And let prayer and supplication,
Lance and glorious falchion be;
Onward then, with bold contending,
In the path the martyrs trod:
God to thee his strength is lending;
Onward, in the strength of God.
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 first syllable of “Soldier”, 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 Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 992 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “The Soldier of the Cross”.
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, On the Dewy Breath of Even, Praise the Lord, When Blushing Morning.
Questions about Soldier, to the Contest Pressing
What is the doh of Soldier, to the Contest Pressing?
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 Soldier, to the Contest Pressing start on?
It starts on m (C in Ab major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Soldier” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is Soldier, to the Contest Pressing in the public domain?
Yes. William Herbert Jude died in 1922; the words were in print by 1853 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.