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gaddguy
Guest
Hi. I will be music minister at Easter Sunday mass. I’m wondering if the song “Were You There” is OK to play on Easter Sunday. Thank you.
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Horton
Guest
For Easter Sunday I would think it would be more appropriate to have music celebrating Christ’s resurrection rather than his crucifixion.
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midori
Guest
Good Friday.
Easter Sunday isn’t about looking back at the ugliness and terribleness of the Sacrifice, his suffering, and the death of our Master-- it’s about looking at his triumph over death and the brilliance of the Resurrection.
Easter Sunday isn’t about looking back at the ugliness and terribleness of the Sacrifice, his suffering, and the death of our Master-- it’s about looking at his triumph over death and the brilliance of the Resurrection.
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CapitalistCatholic
Guest
I love the hymn, and think it’s a good choice. As the song progresses, it moves from the Crucifixion, onto the Resurrection. You can’t have Easter Sunday without Good Friday! Remember that!
Tis_Bearself
Patron
If you want to do only the final verse about the Resurrection, it might be okay, but the entire hymn is traditionally associated with Good Friday. I can’t imagine a pastor getting behind your playing it on Easter Sunday, and I personally think it’s inappropriate for that day.
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Loud-living-dogma
Guest
How about “Christ the Lord is risen today”? Also I’m pretty sure there is an Easter sequence that is usually done. Also “O filii et filiae” is a very traditional Catholic Easter hymn. Or “Crown Him with many crowns”. “Alleluia, alleluia, let the holy anthem rise”. Is there someone you can consult with at your parish? The pastor – or is there another music director who has done this before? Good luck!
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Loud-living-dogma
Guest
Yes, but Good Friday would have been two days ago. I don’t think people would care to hear that on Easter Sunday. It’s a bit off the calendar…
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maryjk
Guest
We tend to have that on Palm Sunday and on Good Friday.
Easter is about celebration. As in we celebrate that the Lord is risen.
In fact, our response to “He is Risen,” is “He is Risen, Indeed.” Not, “but he was just crucified.”
Easter is about celebration. As in we celebrate that the Lord is risen.
In fact, our response to “He is Risen,” is “He is Risen, Indeed.” Not, “but he was just crucified.”
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midori
Guest
You also can’t have your Easter Sunday without your Nativity, but there’s no argument about singing Christmas carols! 
Part of picking the songs is to reflect what’s being celebrated in front of you right now, not the themes that were celebrated that led up to where you happen to be, but were already celebrated elsewhere a few days ago.
Triduum is sort of like a liturgical entity that encompasses multiple physical days, which is part of why Holy Thursday has such a unique end to it-- it’s not an end, per se, but rather, more like going into recess until you pick up again a bit later. It has a nice flow that culminates in the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening, and by the time you get to Easter Sunday at Dawn, or some other daytime Sunday Mass, you’ve gotten past all of your Triduum emotion and energy, because you’re into the third or fourth Easter celebration at that point.
So referencing a Good Friday song at Easter Vigil is, perhaps, the liturgical equivalent of serving bagels and scrambled eggs at dinnertime. It’s unseasonal, if that makes sense, even if the song is a good song, and the food is good food. Referencing a Good Friday song on Easter Sunday is like having a Thanksgiving spread on the second Sunday of Advent… it’s still a good song, and it’s still good food, but it’s really unseasonal by that point.
–edit-- Although, I do admit, it would make sense to incorporate it if you were music minister at a Protestant church that doesn’t celebrate Holy Thursday or Good Friday as distinct feasts. If they wanted to smush the entire Triduum-- Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil, etc-- into one celebration, then yes, it would make sense. But hymns like “Lift High the Cross” would be more appropriate, because it’s about victory, rather than suffering. My parish is fond of “The Strife is O’er, the Battle Done”, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”, “Crown Him With Many Crowns”. In contrast with more Good Friday-ish songs, like “Were You There”, “Old Rugged Cross”, “O Sacred Head Surrounded” and so on.
Part of picking the songs is to reflect what’s being celebrated in front of you right now, not the themes that were celebrated that led up to where you happen to be, but were already celebrated elsewhere a few days ago.Triduum is sort of like a liturgical entity that encompasses multiple physical days, which is part of why Holy Thursday has such a unique end to it-- it’s not an end, per se, but rather, more like going into recess until you pick up again a bit later. It has a nice flow that culminates in the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening, and by the time you get to Easter Sunday at Dawn, or some other daytime Sunday Mass, you’ve gotten past all of your Triduum emotion and energy, because you’re into the third or fourth Easter celebration at that point.
So referencing a Good Friday song at Easter Vigil is, perhaps, the liturgical equivalent of serving bagels and scrambled eggs at dinnertime. It’s unseasonal, if that makes sense, even if the song is a good song, and the food is good food. Referencing a Good Friday song on Easter Sunday is like having a Thanksgiving spread on the second Sunday of Advent… it’s still a good song, and it’s still good food, but it’s really unseasonal by that point.
–edit-- Although, I do admit, it would make sense to incorporate it if you were music minister at a Protestant church that doesn’t celebrate Holy Thursday or Good Friday as distinct feasts. If they wanted to smush the entire Triduum-- Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil, etc-- into one celebration, then yes, it would make sense. But hymns like “Lift High the Cross” would be more appropriate, because it’s about victory, rather than suffering. My parish is fond of “The Strife is O’er, the Battle Done”, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”, “Crown Him With Many Crowns”. In contrast with more Good Friday-ish songs, like “Were You There”, “Old Rugged Cross”, “O Sacred Head Surrounded” and so on.
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I don’t see “Were You There,” as appropriate for Easter because it seems appropriate for Good Friday.
Yes, you can’t have the resurrection without the cross, but that is why we have the Triduum, which is often described as one Liturgy spread over a three day period. (OK, four days, if you count Easter Sunday as separate from the Vigil.) The music for each day of this grand liturgy has its own character.
Our parish Choir will be singing a couple of versions of “Ubi Caritas” on Holy Thursday, and “Were You There” and “Ave Verum” for Good Friday. For the Vigil and the Sunday Masses we will be singing pieces like “Now Is Christ Risen,” “Rejoice In the Risen Christ,” and “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today.” (Not all the the same Mass.)
Obviously not all people will come to every part of the Triduum liturgy but that doesn’t seem like a good reason to try to squeeze it together.
Yes, you can’t have the resurrection without the cross, but that is why we have the Triduum, which is often described as one Liturgy spread over a three day period. (OK, four days, if you count Easter Sunday as separate from the Vigil.) The music for each day of this grand liturgy has its own character.
Our parish Choir will be singing a couple of versions of “Ubi Caritas” on Holy Thursday, and “Were You There” and “Ave Verum” for Good Friday. For the Vigil and the Sunday Masses we will be singing pieces like “Now Is Christ Risen,” “Rejoice In the Risen Christ,” and “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today.” (Not all the the same Mass.)
Obviously not all people will come to every part of the Triduum liturgy but that doesn’t seem like a good reason to try to squeeze it together.
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gaddguy
Guest
I had a feeling that would be the major response. I have my reasons for wanting to sing it but don’t want to let my preferences override what’s appropriate for Easter Mass. Thank you all for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
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TheLittleLady
Guest
Back when I was a non-Catholic, and toured as a professional singer, this was one of my standard performance pieces for Easter. Why? Because I could sing the heck out of it and it would get a huge emotional response with the last verse bring a standing ovation. Yeah, it was all about me.
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awesomecatholic
Guest
Not on Easter Sunday but for sure on Good Friday. I love that hymn!
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JanetF
Guest
We sang this on Palm Sunday!
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gaddguy
Guest
I found a great replacement. “This is Jesus”
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Loud-living-dogma
Guest
Interesting! Is it in your hymnal? Are you attempting to use Catholic liturgical music? Just wondering if you are concerned about any copyright issues…
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TheLittleLady
Guest
And why the need to find some obscure, solo performance piece. Select songs at Mass that everyone can look up in the hymnal and sing along. If you need to transpose the key to something that is singable to most people, do that.
GospelOfMatthew
New member
Easter should be Jesus Christ has risen today!
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dochawk
Guest
That’s the one thing that Luther got right: he set his hymns to the tunes of German drinking songs, in order that people could sing them . . .
When a song is just brought in because the “music ministers” like it, notwithstanding that the people don’t know it or can’t reach it, it’s time to overhaul the parish music . . .
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