To me, Easter means Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, which I listen to every year. I especially love the part when Jesus says that someone will betray him, and the baffled humans in his midst say, “Lord, is it I?” in messy counterpoint all over the place…such a contrast to the music of Jesus, when, for example, he says “Take and eat ye all of this…”
And then of course there is that chorale.
No other piece of music has meant as much to me over the years. When I was in high school I used to sit on the floor with the speakers of my stereo pressed against each ear listening to it over and over and over. I sang the aria that translates as “Grief and Pain” in a vocal competition when I was a freshman. Although I got an “Excellent” on it, the judge diplomatically wrote: “Maybe this piece is a little ambitious for a 14 year old.” But ya gotta sing what ya gotta sing, right?
Pretentious sod. I suggest that the judge found it threatening that a young teenager would have deeper tastes than presumed.
Ah, Carol, my own Easter tunes are common, I’m afraid. “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is the one that runs thru my head when I recall that it’s Easter.
Laugh if you will but I just love “Here comes Peter Cottontail”. Yeah I know it has nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter. I nearly fell off my couch with gleeful laughter the first time I heard the singing bunnies in the Toys-R-Us commercial singing it. My husband started laughing when I finished singing the song. He couldn’t believe I knew all the words.
It’s one of the few songs I remember hearing my mom actually sing.
“Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” is a must on Easter. In the contemporary praise and worship vein, I love Graham Kendrick’s “For This Purpose” - “Over sin, He has conquered, alleluia, He has conquered/Over death, victorious, alleluia, victorious/Over sickness He has triumphed, alleluia, He has triumphed/Jesus reigns over all.”
Today most of our service was music including Christ the Lord is Risen Today. The highlight though was by a man in our congregation with a professional opera background that sang The Holy City accompanied by piano. The choruses with their booming Jerusalem, Jerusalem was very moving. I hope all had a wonderful day today.
This morning I listened to it played in our church my a 16 YO trumpet player, who was thoroughly winded by the time he was done.
But I will always hear it in my head as sung by my father, on many Easter mornings in church when I was young. He had (still does, tho he doesn’t use it anymore) a beautiful baritone voice. He was the primary soloist at our church when I was growing up. When he was a youngster, his mother was their church organist, and my father sang for many of the local weddings and funerals. He even took a few voice lessons at MacPhail in Minneapolis, taking the train the 75 or so miles in, but the cost was too much (1930s).
Easter morning is always Sunrise service, egg bake at the church breakfast, and my father singing “The Holy City”.
Ahh, Redwolf, my list is very much like yours, but I’ve gotta add-
from the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal
184-Christ The Lord is Risen Again(I played this as a prelude this a.m.(one of my special favorites)
190- Lift Your Voice Rejoicing Mary
193- That Easter day with joy was bright (we will have this as the recessional hymn next week- a powerful hymn
206- O sons and daughters, let us sing! (another particular favorite- wonderful tune from 1623-known as The Thomas song by my choir
Actually some of my very favorites are from Palm Sunday and Holy Week-
156- Ride On! Ride On In Majesty
159- At The Cross Her Vigil Keeping (Stabat Mater dolorosa)
166- Sing my tongue the glorious battle-Pange lingua
168- O Sacred Head Sore Wounded( in my head I always hear Fernando Ortega’s voice singing this)
This morning we did the obligatory Jesus Christ Is Risen Today as the sequence hymn(not a favorite)
had 179- Welcome happy morning as a processional
The choir worked really hard and learned Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring which they did as an offeratory,
177- Over the Chaos- the communion hymn
and208- The Strife is o’er, the battle done as the recessional.
one of the perks as church organist is I majorly influence which tunes we do - hence we do a LOT of my favorites
We really “high churched” it up, with more service music than I’ve ever had to play. It was great!!!
To a list of my favorites I must add- and this comes from my Baptist rasin’-
Up From The Grave He Arose. That was always my favorite as a kid.
- hence we do a LOT of my favorites 