Hymns for Easter
The Alleluia comes back. The difficulty is week five, not week one.
Nobody struggles with Easter Day. The hymns choose themselves and the building does the rest. The difficulty is the Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Easter, by which point the obvious repertoire is spent and the season still has three weeks to run.
| Hymn | Where it sits | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus Christ is risen today | Easter Day, opening | Lyra Davidica. Public domain |
| Thine be the glory | Easter Day, final | Maccabaeus. The one they came for |
| The day of resurrection | Opening | John of Damascus, tr. Neale. Public domain |
| Now the green blade riseth | Gradual | Crum; Noël nouvelet. Check copyright |
| Love’s redeeming work is done | Opening | Wesley. Public domain |
| Alleluia, sing to Jesus | Communion, any Sunday | Dix; Hyfrydol. Public domain |
| At the Lamb’s high feast we sing | Easter 2 onwards | Ad regias Agni dapes. Public domain |
| The strife is o’er, the battle done | Opening | Victory. Public domain |
| Ye choirs of new Jerusalem | Later in Eastertide | St Fulbert. Keeps the season alive in week five |
Keeping the fifty days
Eastertide runs from Easter Day to Pentecost — fifty days, seven Sundays. Two habits keep it from collapsing into one: hold back two of the strongest hymns for Easter 4 and 5 rather than spending everything on the first Sunday, and keep the Alleluia in the dismissal all the way through, which signals the season better than any hymn.
Easter readings, all three years.
Questions
What hymns are traditional for Easter Day?
Jesus Christ is risen today; Thine be the glory; The day of resurrection; Love's redeeming work is done; and The strife is o'er, the battle done.
How long does Eastertide last?
Fifty days, from Easter Day to Pentecost — seven Sundays. Holding back two strong hymns for the fourth and fifth Sundays keeps the season from collapsing into its first weekend.