Sweet Hour of Prayer in Tonic Solfa
Sweet Hour of Prayer in Tonic Solfa to SWEET HOUR: the solfa with the words, staff notation, the four verses, and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dSweet | mhour-fofsprayer!-ssweet | lhour-tofd'prayer!-lThat | scalls-mmemfromr_da | rworld-mofrcare,-dAnd |
| mbids-fmesat-smy | lFa--tther’sd'throne-lMake | sall-mmymwantsr_dand | mwish--resdknown.-sIn |
| d'sea--tsonsd'of-ldis- | stress-mandsgrief,-sMy | d'soul-thasd'of--lten | sfound-mre-rlief,-dAnd |
| moft-fes-scaped-sthe | ltemp--tter’sd'snare,-lBy | sthy-mre-mturnr_dsweet | mhour-rofdprayer!- |
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Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir
- Key
- Db major
- Doh
- Db
- Time
- 6/8
- Starts on
- d (D♭)
- Range
- d to d' (D♭ to D♭, an octave)
- Tune
- SWEET HOUR
- Words
- William W. Walford
Tune SWEET HOUR by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868); words by William W. Walford (1772–1850). 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 Db · 6/8
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Db major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Db 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 (D♭), on the word “Sweet”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 6/8 means two dotted-crotchet beats (six quavers) 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
William W. Walford wrote the words, first published in 1845. The tune, SWEET HOUR, is by William Batchelder Bradbury (1861).
- Words (1845): William W. Walford (1772–1850)
- Music (1861): William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868)
Tune SWEET HOUR by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868); words by William W. Walford (1772–1850).
Sung to the same tune: Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord, Eternal, Spotless Lamb of God, How Shall We Praise Thee, Lord of Light, Jesu, My Advocate Above, Lamp of Our Feet! Whose Hallowed Beam, O Holy Father! 'Mid the Calm, The Spacious Firmament on High, Though Sore Beset with Guilt and Fear, When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise.
Questions about Sweet Hour of Prayer
What is the doh of Sweet Hour of Prayer?
In this version, in Db major, doh is Db. 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 Sweet Hour of Prayer start on?
It starts on d (D♭ in Db major), a pickup on the word “Sweet” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Sweet Hour of Prayer in the public domain?
Yes. William W. Walford died in 1850, William Batchelder Bradbury died in 1868; the words were first published in 1845 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.