Easter

Today, the day I start this blog, is Easter Sunday. Not just any Easter Sunday as it happens, but Easter Sunday 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the world is in lockdown. For the first time in my entire life, I have not been meeting with other Christians to celebrate the resurrection today.

Instead there has been various attempts to do church through technology - radio, TV and of course via the internet in all its manifestations.

On BBC Radio 4 this morning in the Sunday Worship broadcast, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, isolating at home with his family, there were contributions from various other people and groups, all recorded in their own homes (including a very professional sounding full harmony version of 'This Joyful Eastertide' performed by members of one family in their own home) and the last hymn was one that probably for my entire life has symbolised Easter Day more than any other. This is of course:

'Thine be the glory'. 

This particular rendering was rather unusual - it was mixed together from recordings sent in from 150 singers in their own homes, singing along to the organ accompaniment playing through headphones. I know how it was done because as far as I know my voice was one of the singers.... unless of course they rejected my contribution because I had trouble getting the alto part correct on the 3rd line!

So if that one was the constant backdrop to Easter for me, what has been some of the other music from that season that has accompanied my life?

Childhood

I grew up amongst the Open Brethren who weren't really very big on Easter, (or any part of the liturgical calendar really). Well they were certainly big on what happened in Good Friday, with that being the main focus of worship each Sunday morning with many hymns about the cross and Jesus's death. We only got to sing Easter hymns at Sunday school in the afternoons, and probably at the evening 'gospel' meeting. There were 3 hymns and choruses that the Sunday School Superintendent dusted off each year for us children to sing at Easter, and two of those I don't think I have sung since.

In fact the first two are so obscure that Google doesn't even seem to know about them!

The words of the first were something like this:

       He rose victoriously in might and majesty
      The Saviour rose no more to die
      So let us now proclaim the glories of His name
       And tell to all that Jesus lives 

And this was the tune:

The second one began something like this:

 The stone was rolled away 
From where the Saviour lay
Oh great and glorious day  
When Jesus rose again 

there were 4 more lines I think, but they have been lost in the mists of time. I won't bother to notate the tune because I cant remember the second half so it will sound odd. (I can remember the first part that goes with those words anyway.)

Addendum ... my sister has recalled the remaining 4 lines! 

A living Saviour is he

From sin to set us free

One day he’s coming back

What glory that will be!

and she helped me recall the tune too...

The third one we sang each year, as far as I can recall, was much more well known:

  'Low in the grave he lay'  (YouTube link)

Teens/Young adult

During my teenage years I spent three successive Easters at a young people's house party at Sizewell Hall On at least one of these occasions were were joined by a singer called Lou Hales (once again Google has failed me in locating any information about her) - she played piano and sang her own songs, and the one she sang on Easter morning was very memorable ... except that I have forgotten most of it apart from the tune of the refrain:

Lou Hales in April 1980 with her partner Steve

I spent my student years in Leeds where I was introduced to the Christian musician Adrian Snell, a Leeds man himself. I wasn't particularly impressed by his early albums (although I liked the cover of 'Listen to the Peace' see above) until he made... 

The Passion (YouTube link). 

This was a whole Easter Cantata I suppose, with songs about the series of events leading up to Christs death and resurrection, starting with the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and finishing with the Great Commission after the resurrection. Musically varied in style using both orchestra and rock band, the music is good. Pretty sure I went to a performance of this piece of music in Leeds Town Hall when it first came out.

 I often listen to it on Easter Sunday, which I did this year (after several years break) and was struck by the fact that although the music has stood the test of time, the words are rather corny and forced. Its not exactly great poetry. And I still prefer Lou Hales's version of 'He's alive!' to the equivalent 'Jesus is alive' in this collection.

There seemed to be a bit of a glut of these contemporary resurrection songs in the late 70s / early 80s. Another example I want to include here is by an American singer called Don Francisco. I can't remember how I was first introduced to his music, but he was definitely one of my favourite Christian musicians at the time - pretty sure I once heard him in concert at Bentwaters US base.

His own version of 'He's Alive' is most surely the best of the bunch, written from the point of view of Peter, in a minor key for the most part representing the sorrowful build up for Peter, but with clever glimpses of the major towards the end when Peter realises that Christ has risen.

  'He's Alive' on YouTube

     'He's alive and I'm forgiven

      Heaven's gates are open wide!'

 More recently

There hasn't been an abundance of fresh memorable Easter music in my life since those days. 

In my 30's I joined a ladies choir called the Coop Singers, and we performed a piece called 'O Rejoice that the Lord has Arisen' - yet another piece of music that rhymes 'arisen' with 'prison'. To my shame, it is only now that I look it up to include here, that I learn it is actually part of  'Cavalleria rusticana'.

Here is a fairly recent choral version (You Tube)

Another memorable Easter piece that was new to me was a hymn called 

Now the Green blade riseth

which I never knew until I joined my present church. It is simple and beautiful. The link originally played a lovely version I found on You Tube from Kings College Choir, but it got taken down, so this version is from Ely cathedral..... actually I kept listening after this piece and Kings College did another great Easter hymn that I have learnt quite recently in the choir at church:

This Joyful Eastertide

I am going to complete this page with another classic Easter hymn of all time, that I have probably been singing all my life:

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

(this particular version is from the Mormon tabernacle choir - I wouldn't recommend the Mormon Church for their theology, but they sure know how to make good music - I was privileged once to actually hear them one Sunday morning in Salt Lake City)

  

Introduction

An introduction to a piece of music sets the pace, and introduces the style and flavour of what is to follow.

So let me do the same for this blog!

Music of one form or another has formed much of the backbone to my life. Because of my own particular background and heritage, much of this, but of course not all, has been some sort of Christian music.

This blog is my musical memoir, music that I may have listened to, sung, played, studied, written, arranged, danced to... or anything else that can be done with music!

To be honest it is unlikely to be of interest to anyone else. I can guarantee that nobody else on earth would be familiar with all of this music, apart from myself! But if you have stumbled upon this, you are very welcome to share in my memories - there will most probably be something here that you will know. If you were born in the 1960's from an evangelical Christian background, there might even be quite a lot that you will recognise. Enjoy!