When Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains in Tonic Solfa
When Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains in Tonic Solfa to SAVED BY GRACE, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 3 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| mWhenmlongfthe | msoul--rhads,sleptrin | dchains--dAndt,mandto | fman--mwasrstern-,l,and | rcold;--mWhenmlovefand |
| mwor---rships,wererbut | dstrains--mThatrsweptmthe | sgift-fedmchords--rof | dold--mBymsha-sdy |
| smount--landmpeace-sful | slake,--sAsmeekfand | flow-slytstran---lger | scame,--mThemwea-sry |
| sdrank--lthemwordsshe | sspake,--sThespoordand | dsuf-fferingmblessed--rhis | dname.-- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 3/4
- Starts on
- m (A)
- Range
- s, to t (C to E, a tenth)
- Tune
- SAVED BY GRACE
- Words
- Edwin Hubbell Chapin
- Music
- George C. Stebbins
Tune SAVED BY GRACE by George C. Stebbins (1846–1945); words by Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880). 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 F · 3/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
When long the soul had slept in chains
And man to man was stern and cold;
When love and worship were but strains
That swept the gifted chords of old —
By shady mount and peaceful lake,
A meek and lowly stranger came,
The weary drank the words he spake,
The poor and suffering blessed his name.
He went where frenzy held its rule,
Where sickness breathed its spell of pain;
By famed Bethesda's mystic pool,
And by the darkened gate of Nain.
He soothed the mourner's troubled breast,
He raised the contrite sinner's head,
And on the loved ones' lowly rest
The light of better life he shed.
Father, the spirit Jesus knew
We humbly ask of Thee to-night,
That we may be disciples too
Of him whose way was love and light.
Bright be the places where we tread
Amid earth's suffering and its poor,
Until that day when tears are shed,
And broken sighs are heard, no more.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F 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 (A), on the word “When”, 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. A cell split by a comma holds two quarter beats: d -,r is a dotted quaver and a semiquaver, d,r two semiquavers. That comma sits between two syllables; an octave mark sits small and low against its own letter (s,).
- 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
Edwin Hubbell Chapin wrote these words. They were printed in the supplement of the 1866 edition of A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion, compiled by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston, 1866), as hymn 574, “For a Charitable Occasion”.
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 SAVED BY GRACE; any other Long Metre Double tune fits them as well.
- Words: Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880)
- Music (1894): George C. Stebbins (1846–1945)
Tune SAVED BY GRACE by George C. Stebbins (1846–1945); words by Edwin Hubbell Chapin (1814–1880).
Sung to the same tune: Let Not the Wise His Wisdom Boast, Not Only Doth the Voiceful Day, Saved by Grace, Thou Art the Way — and He Who Sighs, When Called, O Lord, to Mourn the Doom.
Questions about When Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains
What is the doh of When Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. 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 Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains start on?
It starts on m (A in F major), a pickup on the word “When” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to m.
Is When Long the Soul Had Slept in Chains in the public domain?
Yes. Edwin Hubbell Chapin died in 1880, George C. Stebbins died in 1945; the words were in print by 1866 and the music in 1894. 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.