Westward, Lord, the World Alluring in Tonic Solfa

Westward, Lord, the World Alluring in Tonic Solfa to LUX EOI, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.

The solfa with the words

Doh is D4/4

sWest---sward,d'Lord,-sthe-

sworld-fal--flur--ming,-

lHas-lThy-sri--msen-

rday-dstar-rbeamed,---

sAnd,--sthed'sink--d'ing-

tsoul-las--r'sur--sing,-

feO'er-mthe-rworld's-swide-

so--fecean-sstreamed.---

fWest--fward,-mstill,-mthe-

lmid---lnightlbreak--seing,-

lWest--tward,-d'still,-tits-

mlight-sebe-lpoured!---

sHea--d'then-m'Thy-r'pos--

d'ses--tsion-lmak--sing,-

saUt--fmost-mlands-lThy-

ddwell--ring,-dLord!---

Got your choir's recording? Get it in solfa →

Download the solfa (PDF)A4, free to print and share with your choir

Key: D major
Doh: D
Time: 4/4
Starts on: s (A)
Range: d to m' (D to F♯, a tenth)
Tune: LUX EOI
Words: Arthur Cleveland Coxe
Music: Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Tune LUX EOI by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900); words by Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896). 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 D · 4/4

| s - - s d' - s - Westward, Lord, the| s - f - f - m - |world alluring,

| l - l - s - m - Has Thy risen| r - d - r - - - |day star beamed,

| s - - s d' - d' - And, the sinking| t - l - r' - s - |soul assuring,

| fe - m - r - s - O'er the world's wide| s - fe - s - - - |ocean streamed.

| f - f - m - m - Westward, still, the| l - - l l - se - |midnight breaking,

| l - t - d' - t - Westward, still, its| m - se - l - - - |light be poured!

| s - d' - m' - r' - Heathen Thy pos-| d' - t - l - s - |session making,

| sa - f - m - l - Utmost lands Thy| d - r - d - - - |dwelling, Lord!

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

Westward, Lord, the world alluring,
Has Thy risen day-star beamed,
And, the sinking soul assuring,
O'er the world's wide ocean streamed.
Westward, still, the midnight breaking,
Westward, still, its light be poured!
Heathen Thy possession making,
Utmost lands Thy dwelling, Lord!

Westward, where the waving prairie,
Dark as slumbering ocean, lies,
Let thy starlight, Son of Mary,
O'er the shadowed billows rise!
Here be heard, ye herald voices,
Till the Lord his glory shows,
And the lonely place rejoices
With the bloom of Sharon's rose.

Where the wilderness is lying,
And the trees of ages nod,
Westward, in the desert crying,
Make a highway for our God.
Westward, till the church be kneeling
In the forest aisles so dim,
And the wild-wood's arches pealing
With the people's holy hymn.

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).
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 fe se sa. 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

Arthur Cleveland Coxe wrote these words. They were printed in A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1848), as hymn 418, “Western Missions”.

The book printed the words without tunes, marked Eights and Sevens Double (8.7.8.7.8.7.8.7), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to LUX EOI; any other Eights and Sevens Double tune fits them as well.

Words: Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896)
Music (1874): Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900)

Tune LUX EOI by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900); words by Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818–1896).

Sung to the same tune: As in Solemn Congregation, Christ the Word! Thine Incarnation, Come, Thou All-inspiring Spirit, Could the Creatures Help or Ease Us, Hear What God the Lord Hath Spoken, Holy Father, Thou Hast Taught Me, In the Name Which Earth and Heaven, Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken, Legion Was My Name by Nature, Let the World Despise and Leave Me, Love Divine, All Love Excelling, Mighty One, Whose Name Is Holy, Peace Be to This Habitation, We Have Met in Peace Together.

Questions about Westward, Lord, the World Alluring

What is the doh of Westward, Lord, the World Alluring?

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 Westward, Lord, the World Alluring start on?

It starts on s (A in D major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.

Is Westward, Lord, the World Alluring in the public domain?

Yes. Arthur Cleveland Coxe died in 1896, Arthur Seymour Sullivan died in 1900; the words were in print by 1848 and the music in 1874. 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.