The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us in Tonic Solfa
The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 5 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s, (D)
- Range
- s, to s (D to D, an octave)
- Tune
- ACT GOTT VOM HIMMELREICHE
- Words
- Johann Walther, Matthias Loy
- Music
- Michael Praetorius
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ACT GOTT VOM HIMMELREICHE by Michael Praetorius (1571–1621); words by Johann Walther (1496–1570); translated by Matthias Loy (1828–1915). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| s,The- | dBride----dgroom- | rsoon---fwill- | mcall--r_m_- | rus,---rCome,- |
| dall---dye- | fwed----mding- | rguests!---mMay- | l,not---t,His- |
| dvoice---rap-- | t,pall--l,_t,_- | s,us,---mWhile- | mslum----sber- |
| fbinds---four- | mbreasts;---mMay- | mall---sour- | rlamps---mbe- |
| fburn---s_f_- | ming,---mAnd- | moil---sbe- | ffound---min- |
| rstore,---mThat- | rwe,---dwith- | rHim---t,re-- | dturn---t,_d_- |
| ring,---mMay- | so----mpen- | ffind-rthe--- | ddoor.--- |
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 G · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
The Bridegroom soon will call us,
Come, all ye wedding guests!
May not His voice appall us,
While slumber binds our breasts;
May all our lamps be burning,
And oil be found in store,
That we, with Him returning,
May open find the door.
There shall we see delighted
Our dear Redeemer's face,
Who leads our souls benighted
To glory by His grace;
The patriarchs shall meet us,
The prophets' holy band,
Apostles, martyrs, greet us
In that celestial land.
They will not blush to own us
As brothers, sisters dear,
Love ever will be shown us
When we with them appear;
We all shall come before Him,
Who for us Man became,
As Lord and God adore Him,
And ever bless His Name.
Our Father, rich in blessing,
Will give us crowns of gold
And, to His bosom pressing,
Impart a bliss untold,
Will welcome with embraces
Of never ending love,
And deck us with His graces
In blissful realms above.
In yonder home shall never
Be silent music's voice;
With hearts and lips forever
We shall in God rejoice;
The angels shall adore Him,
All saints shall sing His praise,
And bring with joy before Him
Their sweetest heav'nly lays.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 s, (D), on the word “The”, 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 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
The words are by Johann Walther, first published in 1552. The English translation is by Matthias Loy (1880). The tune, ACT GOTT VOM HIMMELREICHE, is by Michael Praetorius (1609). This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1552): Johann Walther (1496–1570)
- Translated (1880): Matthias Loy (1828–1915)
- Music (1609): Michael Praetorius (1571–1621)
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ACT GOTT VOM HIMMELREICHE by Michael Praetorius (1571–1621); words by Johann Walther (1496–1570); translated by Matthias Loy (1828–1915). 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 The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us
What is the doh of The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us start on?
It starts on s, (D in G major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s,.
Is The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us in the public domain?
Yes. Johann Walther died in 1570, Matthias Loy died in 1915, Michael Praetorius died in 1621; the words were first published in 1880 and the music in 1609. 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.