A Hymn for Easter

 

The Season of Easter essentially wraps up the story of Jesus, one which began during the Seasons of Advent and Christmas. While Easter Sunday depicts The Resurrection of Jesus, the Season of Easter lasts another 50 days, or a time span across six Sundays or so. Over that time beyond Easter Sunday, church goers spend time with the Apostles in the aftermath of The Betrayal and The Crucifixion.

But for many, Easter is one day ending the journey which began at The Birth of Jesus. Thus for our first Easter hymn of this series, I will stick to the actual Day of Easter.

One year ago, my mother passed due to complications from Cancer. One thing I could always count on her for, was a stirring rendition of Up from the Ground He Arose at Easter dinner. I believe it was a favorite of hers from her time with the Salvation Army, for which she played trombone at some point, I believe.

This is a unique occasion for me, as unlike the other hymns I have chosen for the blog's Hymn Series, this is a hymn I have never played for a congregation before. I have known it for a long, long, time, again through my mother, however, the hymn was either not printed in the hymnal of the church I was playing for, or other hymns were programmed for Easter. I have used this one as a Prelude, done so in a Fantasy form.

Up From the Ground was composed by Robert Lowry in 1874. Lowry was a Baptist pastor from Pennsylvania, who also wrote the words of the hymn as well. The tune name Christ Arose comes from the very last words of the refrain. Of the few hymns I have covered so far, this is the only one which I have seen in shape-note print, alluding to its early US-based musical origins.

The metrical index lists the verse as 6.5.6.4 or 11.10, usually followed by the word refrain. I have seen the refrain spelled out metrically as 7.9.11.11.6.7, however, such things are unusual. Suffice to say, no one is going to be trading this tune or its lyrics with another.

There are two separate sections to Christ Arose. The first is a rather subdued introduction where the tessitura of the melody lies rather low for the singer, moving in step-wise, conjunct motion. If you sing along to the alto, tenor, or bass lines here, you will also notice a rather static bit of part writing, although it feels traditionally hymn-like. Such a feeling could come from the prevalence of slower crotchets and minims, ones which are rhythmically staid in the manner of a traditional hymn.

But all of what comes at the beginning of the hymn is simply a prelude leading towards the buoyant refrain.

Not only does the printed music sometimes indicate an increase of tempo at the refrain, but the rhythms become heavily dotted and the melody shoots up like a Classical Era Mannheim Rocket. This opening is a bit of fun musical word painting too, for on the first phrase of 'Up from the Grave He Arose', the melody literally rises from low to high. While there is a natural rise and fall to all of the phrases in the refrain, the melodic range is significantly wider than the opening part of the hymn, often dwelling amongst higher ranges in the middle of the phrase.

The dotted rhythms of the refrain evoke a militaristic attitude to the music, another reason why some churches avoid this hymn. With phrases such as 'a mighty triumph o'er His foes' and ' He arose a Victor from the dark domain', there is a message of a battle to be won. In the case of Easter, the subject refers to Jesus' victory over Death.

Also, with each singing of the words 'He Arose', the men in the congregation echo in response every time. This also brings to mind a style of the military song, especially as these echoes lands in the men's voices specifically. If I am also reminded of 'Repeat the Sounding Joy' from Joy to the World, these are the delights of being a bass in a congregation or church choir.

As if to put a musical feather in its cap, the hymn ends on two final strains of 'He Arose', the melody held out in its highest range thus far, echoed once again by the basses and tenors, with a final 'Hallelujah! Christ Arose!' in tutti voices. At this point, the toughest part for the singers is going back to the serenity of the opening following the raucous main chorus.


While I have seen Christ Arose in the key of C Major, I prefer the sonorities of the lower B-flat Major. The flats seem to add a touch of drama to the sound of the pipe organ.

While the hymn pictured above calls for a change of pace at the refrain, I find the music works just fine at the same tempo. The dotted rhythms make up for any need to move faster. If a church choir is present, having them hammer out the echo portions encourages the congregation to participate, especially the young ones.

I could also hear a broader pace for the final time through the refrain, but the organist might want to add a short interlude to introduce the slower tempo. One also could leave such a broadened pace at the final two 'He Arose' and 'Hallelujah' for a grand conclusion. As many churches use contemporary bands in worship, I could also imagine a folk band making good use of this hymn's basis in early musical Americana.

There are so many wonderful Easter hymns to choose from. This one lends a personal touch for me, and hopefully you too!

Find more Hymns HERE!