Easter Hymns?

[Justin1224]

When you’ve been to mass on Sunday of the Easter season, that is the Sundays since Easter Sunday, Have Easter hymns been sung or just hymns you since the rest of the year too maybe. I sing with a small choir in my church and we haven’t been singing really any Easter hymns except for Easter Sunday itself. This is what we have and will be singing:

April 19:
ENT: One Lord MI: 656 (#394)
Sprinkling Rite: Bathed in the water ( sheets)
Glory to God (Judy Hilton) MI: 929 (880)
Gifts: Behold the Lamb MI332 (#65)
Mass of Glory MI:906 ( # 834)
Communion: Eye has not seen MI: 476 (145)
Closing: We belong to you MI: 659 (595)

April 26
Ent: Alleluia, Sing to Jesus MI 748
Gloria – Judy Hilton 929
Off: Song of the Body of Christ MI 319
Comm: Worthy is the Lamb MI 603
Rec: One Lord MI 656

May 3
Ent: Baptized in Water MI 661 (to the tune of Morning Has Broken)
Off: Eye Has Not Seen MI 476
Comm: Because the Lord is my Shepherd MI 480
Rec: At The Name Of Jesus MI 746

May 10
Morning Has Broken MI 644
Off: Mary’s Song MI 711
Comm: Behold the Lamb MI 332
Rec: All The Ends of the Earth MI 564

May 17
Ent: Alleluia #1 MI 615
Off: Come to Me and Drink MI 353 (alt verses)
Comm: You Are Mine MI 475
Rec: We Belong To You MI 659

May 24
Ent: We Walk by Faith MI 516
Off: The Summons MI 384
Comm: One Bread, One Body MI 356
Rec: Let There Be Peace on Earth MI 494

May 31
Ent: One Spirit, One Church MI 405
Sequence: Come O Holy Spirit TM 92
Off: Send Us Your Spirit MI 468
Comm: By the Waking of Our Hearts MI 463
Rec: Church of God MI 409 (tune of Alleluia, Sing to Jesus)

 

[benedictgal]

Alleluia, Sing to Jesus, is a hymn for Holy Communion. If you examine the words, it is a better fit for Communion. OCP just does not get it.

A lot of the songs that you have just do not fit the Easter Season. That is really sad. For the Second Sunday of Easter, you should have sung “O Sons and Daughters” since the verses fit with Jesus and St. Thomas.

You could very well continue singing “Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today” as well as “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing”, “Now the Green Blade Rises”, “Sing with All the Saints in Glory”. Other hymns that your choir could sing include “Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether”, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” and "Shepherd of Souls’ (which would have certainly been most appropriate for Good Shepherd Sunday.

Now, depending on your diocese, the Sunday before Pentecost will probably mark the Ascension. A great hymn would be “A Hymn of Glory Let us Sing” sung to the tune of All Creatures of Our God and King. Then, you could very well pair this with “Alleluia, Sing to Jesus” for Communion. You could end the Mass with “Go Make of All Disciples”.

Why are you guys not singing “Come, Holy Ghost” for Pentecost? It is the Traditional Hymn of the Church (it is a translation of Veni Creator Spiritus). The recessional could also be “Go, Make of All Disciples.”

There is an Englisih translation of the Regina Caeli which is set to the tune of the Latin chant and is not very difficult to sing.

I would seriously look into getting Proulx “A Community Mass” setting. You can find it in the GIA Worship III hymnal. It is faithful to the text and is easy for both a small choir and a congregation to sing. Remember that the Gloria, albeit all of the acclamations and prayers of the Mass, need to be faithful to the approved texts. They cannot be paraphrases.

I am also leery of using anything by Cat Stevens (melody of Morning Has Broken). Some of the worst music has come to us from the 1970s, early 1980s, which, unfortunately, is the time period where MI is stuck. I would also run, not walk, away from anything that Bob Hurd writes as his music is too vertically-oriented.

 

[Justin1224]

I know that during the last 2 or 3 years we have sung We Walk By Faith on Divine Mercy Sunday. The refrain of One Spirit One Church that we sing on Pentecost is actually the same refrain from Come Holy Ghost. We are in the diocese of Portland ME, we still celebrate Ascension on Thursday along with the rest of New England.

 

[benedictgal]

I know that during the last 2 or 3 years we have sung We Walk By Faith on Divine Mercy Sunday. The refrain of One Spirit One Church that we sing on Pentecost is actually the same refrain from Come Holy Ghost. We are in the diocese of Portland ME, we still celebrate Ascension on Thursday along with the rest of New England.

At least you guys still have the right idea about Ascension Thursday!

I never cared for Ferrell’s One Spirit, One Church. It’s too horizontal. It’s better to just stick with Come, Holy Ghost.

While We Walk By Faith is okay, “O Sons and Daughters” dates back several centuries and better fits the Gospel reading for that day. If you examine the lyrics, you will note that it follows the Gospel very closely. It is also easier to sing and it really brings the story of St. Thomas home.

I don’t understand why parishes (and please, this is not a slight on you, my pastor has bought into OCP lock stock and barrell and it will be difficult to pry the stuff out of his hands) are ditching the beautiful, the sacred and the majestic, in favor of modern compositions that do not really have an authentic sense of the faith. Bernadette Ferrel’s composition pales in comparison to Come, Holy Ghost. She has also done a very poor job with a lot of the stuff she has written for the Mass settings for children, taking excessive liberties with the parts of the Mass.

The reason why I am on a crusade against OCP and the like is that this is mostly what my diocese has. It is as though we have lost our musical compass and have gone more towards commercially popular and banal music rather than hymns that reflect the divine solemnity of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

 

[Phemie]

I am also leery of using anything by Cat Stevens (melody of Morning Has Broken). Some of the worst music has come to us from the 1970s, early 1980s, which, unfortunately, is the time period where MI is stuck. I would also run, not walk, away from anything that Bob Hurd writes as his music is too vertically-oriented.

Cat Stevens didn’t write Morning Has Broken, although he did make it a hit on the " Teaser and the Firecat" album in 1971.

This hymn was written by Eleanor Farjeon for 1931’s “Songs of Praise” hymn book and was written to fit the tune BUNESSAN (a traditional Gaelic melody) as requested by Martin Shaw & Ralph Vaugh Williams, the music editors for that hymn book.

Personally, I loathe this tune, finding it difficult to sing well and I’m always surprised when people opt to use it rather than something else that fits the lyrics.

 

[japhy]

My parish has been singing Alleluia-laden hymns all Easter (at least for the entrance hymn).

 

[Phemie]

Unfortunately, our choir believes that Easter ends at midnight Easter Sunday and Christmas ends at midnight New Year’s Day. Nary a seasonal hymn to be heard after those times.

 

[Frosty]

The first two Sundays after Easter for the processional hymn we sang “Christ The Lord is Ris’n Today” and the last two Sundays it was “All Glory Laud And Honour”. Both hymns are ones I remember singing from my childhood and since I have been a member of my current parish they are always sung during the Easter Season. The recessional hymn for all four Sundays has been “This Is the Day of Victory”. I don’t recall what hymns have been sung at Communion or at the offertory except that yesterday’s Communion hymn was another “oldie” that I’m not sure was suitable for Communion “Be Joyful Mary, Heavenly Queen”. I know that it is a Marian hymn for Easter but perhaps would have been better placed at the processional.
All in all, the choir at my parish does a pretty good job of singing appropriate hymns for the different seasons. Our pastor makes a point of reminding us of the significance of each liturgical season and when they begin and end. He goes into great detail about not only the theological details but also the reasons for the colours of the vestments, altar cloths, music. etc.

 

[idrum677]

We have mainly been using Easter Hyms for all Entrance, Closing, and Recessional songs. We’re also keeping the theme with meditation music as well.