Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul in Tonic Solfa
Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul in Tonic Solfa to MATERNA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sThou- | smust--mgomforth-sa-- | slone,--rmyrsoul!-mThou- |
| fmust-sgo-lforth-ta-- | slone,-----sTo- |
| soth---mermscenes,-sto- | soth---rerrworlds,-r'That- |
| de'mor--r'tal-m'hath-lnot- | r'known.-----sThou- |
| m'must--m'gor'forth-d'a-- | d'lone,--tmytsoul,-d'To- |
| r'tread-tthe-lnar--srow- | d'vale;-----d'But- |
| d'He,--lwhoselword-d'is- | d'sure,--shathssaid-sHis- |
| lcom--d'forts-sshall-r'not- | d'fail.----- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (G)
- Range
- r to m' (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- MATERNA
- Words
- Anonymous
- Music
- Samuel A. Ward
Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); 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 C · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Thou must go forth alone, my soul!
Thou must go forth alone,
To other scenes, to other worlds,
That mortal hath not known.
Thou must go forth alone, my soul, —
To tread the narrow vale;
But He, whose word is sure, hath said
His comforts shall not fail.
Thou must go forth alone, my soul,
Along the darksome way;
Where the bright sun has never shed
His warm and gladsome ray.
And yet the Sun of Righteousness
Shall rise amidst the gloom,
And scatter from thy trembling gaze
The shadows of the tomb.
Thou must go forth alone, my soul!
To meet thy God above:
But shrink not — He hath said, my soul,
He is a God of love.
His rod and staff shall comfort thee
Across the dreary road,
Till thou shalt join the blessed ones
In heaven's serene abode.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (G), on the word “Thou”, 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 and the chromatic de. 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 537 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." Ps. 23”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Common Metre Double (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to MATERNA; any other Common Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Anonymous
- Music (1882): Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903)
Tune MATERNA by Samuel A. Ward (1848–1903); words by Anonymous.
Sung to the same tune: And Let This Feeble Body Fail, Behold, the King of Zion Rides, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Jerusalem! My Glorious Home, Joined in a Union Firm and Strong, My Shepherd Is the Lord on High, Not That Thy Boundless Love, My God, O God, That Madest Earth and Sky, O Thou, Who Didst Ordain the Word, The Earth, All Light and Loveliness, The Heavenly Spheres to Thee, O God, The World May Change from Old to New, Who Shall Behold the Glorious Day, Ye Joyous Ones! upon Whose Brow.
Questions about Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul
What is the doh of Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul start on?
It starts on s (G in C major), a pickup on the word “Thou” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Thou Must Go Forth Alone, My Soul in the public domain?
Yes. Samuel A. Ward died in 1903; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1882. 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.