When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise in Tonic Solfa
When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise in Tonic Solfa to SWEET HOUR, doh is Db: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dWhen | mdread-fmis-sfor--stune's | ltem--tpestsd'rise,-lAnd | sroar-mthroughmallr_dthe | rdark--menedrskies,-dWhere |
| mshall-fthesanx--sious | lpil--tgrimd'gain-lA | sshel--mtermfromr_dthe | mwind-randdrain?-sWith- |
| d'in-tthed'co--lvert | sof-mthysgrace,-sO | d'Lord,-tthered'is-la | shid--mingrplace,-dWhere, |
| mun--fcon-scerned,-swe | lhear-tthed'sound,-lThough | sstorm-mandmtem-r_dpest | mrage-ra-dround.- |
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- Key
- Db major
- Doh
- Db
- Time
- 6/8
- Starts on
- d (D♭)
- Range
- d to d' (D♭ to D♭, an octave)
- Tune
- SWEET HOUR
- Words
- Hosea Ballou II
Tune SWEET HOUR by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868); words by Hosea Ballou II (1796–1861). 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 Db · 6/8
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Db major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
When dread misfortune's tempests rise,
And roar through all the darkened skies,
Where shall the anxious pilgrim gain
A shelter from the wind and rain?
Within the covert of thy grace,
O Lord, there is a hiding-place,
Where, unconcerned, we hear the sound,
Though storm and tempest rage around.
When, wandering o'er the desert bare
Of burning sands and sultry air,
We've sought the cheerless region through,
But found no stream to meet our view, —
'Tis then, the rivers of thy love,
Descending from thy throne above,
Supply our wants, and soothe our pain,
And raise our fainting souls again.
When in a weary land we tire,
And our exhausted powers expire,
With toil, and care, and heat oppressed,
Where shall our languid spirits rest?
O, who could bear the blasting ray,
And all the burden of the day,
Did not a Rock in Zion stand,
O'ershading all this weary land!
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Db 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 (D♭), on the word “When”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 6/8 means two dotted-crotchet beats (six quavers) 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
Hosea Ballou II wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 983 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “"A Hiding-place from the Wind," &c”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Long Metre Double (8.8.8.8.8.8.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to SWEET HOUR; any other Long Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Hosea Ballou II (1796–1861)
- Music (1861): William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868)
Tune SWEET HOUR by William Batchelder Bradbury (1816–1868); words by Hosea Ballou II (1796–1861).
Sung to the same tune: Arm These Thy Soldiers, Mighty Lord, Eternal, Spotless Lamb of God, How Shall We Praise Thee, Lord of Light, Jesu, My Advocate Above, Lamp of Our Feet! Whose Hallowed Beam, O Holy Father! 'Mid the Calm, Sweet Hour of Prayer, The Spacious Firmament on High, Though Sore Beset with Guilt and Fear.
Questions about When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise
What is the doh of When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise?
In this version, in Db major, doh is Db. 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 When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise start on?
It starts on d (D♭ in Db major), a pickup on the word “When” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is When Dread Misfortune's Tempests Rise in the public domain?
Yes. Hosea Ballou II died in 1861, William Batchelder Bradbury died in 1868; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1861. 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.