We Gather Together in Tonic Solfa
We Gather Together in Tonic Solfa: the solfa line by line with the words, staff notation, all 3 verses, and a piano to sing along with.
- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- s (A)
- Range
- d to r' (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- KREMSER
- Words
- Anonymous, Theodore Baker
- Music
- Traditional Dutch
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune KREMSER (traditional Dutch); words by Anonymous; translated by Theodore Baker (1851–1934). Sources and licences.
The solfa with the words
| sWe- | sga---lthersto-- | mge--fther-sto- | fask--mtherLord's- | mbless--ding;-sHe- |
| scha---lstenstand- | d'ha---r'stenstHis- | lwill--stolmake- | sknown.---sThe- |
| swi---lckedtop-- | d'pres--ssing-snow- | scease--l_ffromsdis- | mtres--dsing.-dSing- |
| fprai---ssesltofHis | sName;--f_mHemfor- | fgets-rnot--dHis | down.--- |
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 D · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name;
He forgets not His own.
Beside us to guide us,
our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining
His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning
the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side,
all glory be Thine!
We all do extol Thee,
Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our
Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation
escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised!
O Lord, make us free!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 (A), on the word “We”, 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 anonymous, in print by 1597. The English translation is by Theodore Baker (1894). The tune, KREMSER, is Traditional Dutch. This version of the melody and the words comes from the Open Hymnal Project.
- Words (1597): Anonymous
- Translated (1894): Theodore Baker (1851–1934)
- Melody (1597): Traditional Dutch
Melody and words from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune KREMSER (traditional Dutch); words by Anonymous; translated by Theodore Baker (1851–1934). 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 We Gather Together
What is the doh of We Gather Together?
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 We Gather Together start on?
It starts on s (A in D major), a pickup on the word “We” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is We Gather Together in the public domain?
Yes. Theodore Baker died in 1934; the words were first published in 1894 and the music in 1597. 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.