The Mellow Eve Is Gliding in Tonic Solfa
The Mellow Eve Is Gliding in Tonic Solfa to ST. ALPHEGE, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dThe- | mmel--flow-seve-dis- | t,glid----ding-dSe-- |
| t,rene--dly-fdown-mthe- | rwest;-----dSo,- |
| mev--fery-scare-ssub-- | lsid----sing,-dMy- |
| dsoul-rwould-msink-rto- | drest.----- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- t, to l (F♯ to E, a seventh)
- Tune
- ST. ALPHEGE
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Henry John Gauntlett
Tune ST. ALPHEGE by Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876); 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 G · 4/4
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 mellow eve is gliding
Serenely down the west;
So, every care subsiding,
My soul would sink to rest.
The woodland hum is ringing
The daylight's gentle close;
May angels round me singing,
Thus hymn my last repose.
The evening star has lighted
Her crystal lamp on high;
So, when in death benighted,
May hope illume the sky.
In golden splendor dawning,
The morrow's light shall break;
O, on the last bright morning
May I in glory wake.
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 d (G), on the word “The”, 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
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 944 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “Reflections at Sunset”, where the book credits them to the Sacred Songs.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes (7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ST. ALPHEGE; any other Sevens and Sixes tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1852): Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876)
Tune ST. ALPHEGE by Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: In Time of Tribulation, O God of Light and Glory, The Light Pours Down from Heaven, Thy Mighty Word Commanding.
Questions about The Mellow Eve Is Gliding
What is the doh of The Mellow Eve Is Gliding?
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 Mellow Eve Is Gliding start on?
It starts on d (G in G major), a pickup on the word “The” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is The Mellow Eve Is Gliding in the public domain?
Yes. Henry John Gauntlett died in 1876; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1852. 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.