What happened to the Easter Hymns?

[Justin1224]

Do Easter hymns seem to disappear from your parish’s Sunday liturgies on the Sundays of the Easter season after Easter Sunday? Thats what happens in our parish, and I’m in the choir. I was just emailed what we’re singing for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) and none of them are Easter hymns.

ENT: One Lord MI: 663 (394)
Sprinkling Rite: River of Glory MI664 (447) or Water of life (sheets)
Judy Hilton Glory to God MI: 927
Rep PS:/Gospel Accl: R&A PG. 82/83
Mass: Mass of Glory MI: 904 (834)
Gifts: To you O Lord (Alstot) MI: 439 (568)
Comm: Come to me and drink MI: 355 (11)
Closing: We belong to you MI: 669 (595)

For Holy Thursday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday we sang the sang the Mass of Creation. Our choir also sings the Mass of Creation at Christmas, and we used it for Holy Family, Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord. Now its Easter and we don’t even use it past Easter Sunday?

 

[CatholicZ09]

Do Easter hymns seem to disappear from your parish’s Sunday liturgies on the Sundays of the Easter season after Easter Sunday? Thats what happens in our parish, and I’m in the choir. I was just emailed what we’re singing for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) and none of them are Easter hymns.

ENT: One Lord MI: 663 (394)
Sprinkling Rite: River of Glory MI664 (447) or Water of life (sheets)
Judy Hilton Glory to God MI: 927
Rep PS:/Gospel Accl: R&A PG. 82/83
Mass: Mass of Glory MI: 904 (834)
Gifts: To you O Lord (Alstot) MI: 439 (568)
Comm: Come to me and drink MI: 355 (11)
Closing: We belong to you MI: 669 (595)

For Holy Thursday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday we sang the sang the Mass of Creation. Our choir also sings the Mass of Creation at Christmas, and we used it for Holy Family, Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord. Now its Easter and we don’t even use it past Easter Sunday?

Not really. My music director likes to keep the spirit of the Easter season until Pentecost. Granted, there are hymns/songs that I dread during the Easter season.

I’m looking at the list your church is using for this coming Sunday, and it really doesn’t speak of the season at all. I know to keep the season alive, my music director will use “Christ, The Lord, Is Risen Today”, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”, “Glory in the Cross”, etc. during the season. I’m looking through a music suggestion magazine publiced by Oregon Catholic Press, and they push songs on music directors that really don’t speak of the season, just push their agenda along, this case, with the songs your director picked for this coming Sunday. None of those really speak of the season.

As for not using Mass of Creation beyond Easter, that’s just done by the discretion of the director. If he/she feels it’s time to move on, then they’ll use another Mass setting for a period of time. Usually this happens at my parish, we’ll use one setting all throughout Lent, one for the Triduum, and then another one for the Easter season. It’s just their decision.

So, to conclude this, Easter hymns don’t really end on Easter Sunday at my parish, just like Christmas hymns don’t end at my parish until the Baptism of the Lord. The seasonal hymns should be used throughout the season to remind us of what season we’re in. Again, OCP likes to push their music agenda along by what is created from their composers. I just don’t see how they think some of that music is acceptable for the Mass.

 

[Bluegoat]

In the case of the actual Mass setting used at Easter, I think many musical directors like to use something that you only get on Easter day, to make it very special. One church I used to attend always sang Mozart on Easter and it was quite elaborate and memorable, and they didn’t do that throughout the Easter season.

But I would expect that both the setting and any hymns would continue to reflect the season.

 

[roadsend]

… Again, OCP likes to push their music agenda along by what is created from their composers. I just don’t see how they think some of that music is acceptable for the Mass.

OCP IMO pushes whatever will make money for them and their composers.
If it makes money for them, it is acceptable for Mass.
Traditionally Catholic music doesn’t make them any money due to lack of a copyright so don’t expect to hear it very much, if at all.

 

[corsair]

Boy, Roadsend, you sure hit the nail on the head with your comment. OCP is the worst thing to happen to our church since the last worse thing to happen (which is when we continued our purchases with them).

 

[MarkThompson]

Boy, Roadsend, you sure hit the nail on the head with your comment. OCP is the worst thing to happen to our church since the last worse thing to happen (which is when we continued our purchases with them).

Yeah, isn’t it funny how many parishes they’ve managed to convince that music needs to change and be updated every year – or several times a year? As though it was the latest fashion from the runways in Milan, like you shouldn’t be caught dead singing the hymns from last season.