To-day Thy Mercy Calls Us in Tonic Solfa
To-day Thy Mercy Calls Us in Tonic Solfa to ANGEL'S STORY, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mTo- | mday--mThyrmer--dcy- | dcalls---t,us-s,To- |
| fwash--fa-mway-rour- | msin.-----mHow-- |
| sev---serfgreat-mour- | mtres----fpass,-mWhat-- |
| rev---dert,we-dhave- | rbeen;-----reHow-- |
| mev---merrlong-dfrom- | dmer----t,cy-s,Our- |
| fhearts--fhavemturned-ra-- | mway,-----mThy- |
| lpre---sciousfblood-mcan- | scleanse---fus-l,And- |
| dmake--t,usl,white-t,to- | dday.----- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- m (B)
- Range
- s, to l (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- ANGEL'S STORY
- Words
- Oswald Allen
- Music
- Arthur Henry Mann
Tune ANGEL'S STORY by Arthur Henry Mann (1850–1929); words by Oswald Allen (1816–1878). 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
To-day Thy mercy calls us
To wash away our sin.
However great our trespass,
Whatever we have been;
However long from mercy
Our hearts have turned away,
Thy precious blood can cleanse us
And make us white to-day.
To-day Thy gate is open,
And all who enter in
Shall find a Father’s welcome
And pardon for their sin.
The past shall be forgotten,
A present joy be giv’n,
A future grace be promised,
A glorious crown in heav’n.
To-day our Father calls us,
His Holy Spirit waits;
His blessed angels gather
Around the heavenly gates.
No question will be asked us
How often we have come;
Although we oft have wandered,
It is our Father’s home.
O all-embracing Mercy,
O ever-open Door,
What should we do without Thee
When heart and eye run o’er?
When all things seem against us,
To drive us to despair,
We know one gate is open,
One ear will hear our prayer.
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 m (B), on the word “To”, 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 re. 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
Oswald Allen wrote these words. They were printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (St. Louis, 1927), as hymn 50.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Sevens and Sixes Double (7.6.7.6.7.6.7.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to ANGEL'S STORY; any other Sevens and Sixes Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Oswald Allen (1816–1878)
- Music (1881): Arthur Henry Mann (1850–1929)
Tune ANGEL'S STORY by Arthur Henry Mann (1850–1929); words by Oswald Allen (1816–1878).
Sung to the same tune: “Come unto Me, Ye Weary, Ere God Had Built the Mountains, Go When the Morning Shineth, In the Broad Fields of Heaven, O Jesus, I Have Promised, O Son of God, Afflicted, Through Jesus’ Blood and Merit, To Thee, My God and Saviour, To Thee, O Dear, Dear Savior, When, His Salvation Bringing.
Questions about To-day Thy Mercy Calls Us
What is the doh of To-day Thy Mercy Calls 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 To-day Thy Mercy Calls Us start on?
It starts on m (B in G major), a pickup on the word “To” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is To-day Thy Mercy Calls Us in the public domain?
Yes. Oswald Allen died in 1878, Arthur Henry Mann died in 1929; the words were in print by 1927 and the music in 1881. 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.