HOTC #26: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

The Resurrection by Sebastiano Ricci, 1715

I find it so very poignant that, purely because of the arrangement of the hymns within the book and the order in which they were bound, that when the book is closed this hymn - the Easter hymn of English-speaking Christianity - sits facing the hymn “Were You There,” perhaps the darkest and most emotionally poignant of the Good Friday hymns. Without even a page turn, we move from the morose depths of the Good Friday sacrifice to the stunning realization that the world’s savior lives!

This tune could almost be the soundtrack to the Resurrection, and this text a paean dripping with the energy and unrestrained joy of salvation attained; the victory won. Jesus Christ is, indeed, ris’n today. Alleluia!

The Author

The history of this hymn is long, and more than a bit complicated.

We’ll start with the complicated bit. The first verse, at least, has its origins in a Latin text from Bohemia in the 14th Century. This “Surrexit Christus hodie” or “Christ rose today” in literal translation, then made its way into German by at least 1567, and from there into an English collection of German and Latin translations (as well as some newly-composed texts) called the Lyra Davidica, published in London in 1708. At some the second and third verses were appended to it, and appeared in The Compleat Psalmodist in 1749.

Now for the uncomplicated bit. The fourth verse is by either John or Charles Wesley (all of the hymns in their collection were published under both names, but Charles is the more likely author of this verse). The unified whole probably appeared for the first time in 1762.

The Text

The structure of the whole is remarkably organized considering the varied nature of its sources. The first and third verses are recitations of fact with alleluias amidst and in between: Jesus Christ rose on our triumphant holy day (Sunday/Easter), He once suffered and died on the cross, the trials of Christ have purchased our salvation, and He now sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. The second and fourth verses direct the singer to praise of the resurrected Christ, ending in a cleverly devised doxology.

The Tune

Every once in awhile, a hymntune name does what it says on the label: this is the EASTER HYMN, and in it we once again encounter the second greatest of all composers: Anonymous. We encounter this tune for the first time in the Lyra Davidica, mentioned earlier. As you can probably imagine from the complex, contrapuntal “Alleluias” in the refrains, there are several different variants of the tune in the early sources, which gradually distill down to the version we have today. Interestingly, the Lyra Davidica has the tune in D major, not the nearly ubiquitous C major we know the tune in now.

The shape of the melody leaves no doubt that this is a bombastic, joyous tune. The tune begins with an ascending major chord, do-mi-sol. This is followed by a first-inversion major chord (the IV chord in this key). This is followed by the first of three contrapuntal figures (the first two are identical) that accompany the “Alleluia.”

It’s that contrapuntal figure - coming as it does with six pedal notes in a single measure - that used to terrify me as a teenaged organist some 20 years ago. Even now, after having learned Bach preludes and fugues and Widor symphonie movements, it does take a certain amount of working-up the week before Easter, and it’s not something an organist wants to be lazy about.

This is a hymntune built around big, bright, optimistic sounds. By the time the turn is made to the doxology int he final verse, it’s likely organ and congregation will both be at full tilt, feeling all the feels and exalting in the energy of Easter. Christ IS risen! He is risen indeed!

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Settings of this hymn and/or tune can be found in*:

For organ:

Concordia Hymn Prelude Library, Vol. 3

Organ Works of Healey Willan

The Parish Organist, Part 08 (Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity)

Jesus Christ Is Risen Today: An Organ Partita on EASTER HYMN

Triumphant Gladness: Five Pieces for Easter

Easter Mosaics

Musica Sacra: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ, Vol. 8

Five Easy Easter Hymn Settings for Organ

Crucified and Risen Lord

Christ Is Risen!

Musica Sacra: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ, Vol. 4

Twenty-One Hymn Introductions

Six Hymn Preludes on Easter Hymns

Were You There: Easy Hymn Preludes for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter

Alternate harmonizations:

Noel Raswthorne: 400 Last Verses

The Creative Organist, Vol. 2

For choir:

Jesus Christ Is Risen Today (Behnke)

The TTBB Chorale Book, Vol. 2

Jesus Christ Is Risen Today: A Grand Easter Hymn

Processional on Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

Alternate handbell choir:

Easter Processional: Fanfare On Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

Easter Praises! New ‘10

Four Easter Hymns for Twelve Bells, Set 1

For other instruments:

Lutheran Service Book: Instrument Pack for Lent and Easter

Thirty-Three Hymn Descants and Melodies for All Seasons

Brass Fanfares and Accompaniments for the Easter Season

* Due to the popularity of this hymntune and the fact that Sheet Music Plus’s search function was being a total pain in the neck, I’ve resorted to simply reposting Concordia Publishing House’s catalog for this hymntune and adding a few other publications that I have in my collection.