“O the Joy of Easter Morning”
This month we continue our Hymn of the Month series in which one or more hymns drawn from collections published by Leupold Editions will be posted on the opening page of the website for consideration by pastors and musicians who may wish to introduce the hymn to their congregations the following month. The Hymn of the Month will often be thematically appropriate for a particular season of the church year or it may be related to a more general theme about the church’s mission in contemporary society. Thus, pastors and/or musicians may wish to have the choir introduce the hymn on the first Sunday of the month or season and then invite the congregation to join with the choir in singing the hymn on each of the remaining Sundays. Additional hymns will occasionally be suggested for a particular Sunday in the church year or for annual commemorations, such as the liturgies of Holy Week; such
hymns may only be appropriate on the designated day, or they might be used as a Hymn of the Month in anticipation of or in response to the particular day observed on the church calendar.
The Hymn of the Month for May 2023 might more aptly be considered a Hymn of the Season for Late Easter. For both Christmas and Easter, there are hymns that work only on the day because of their specificity, e.g., Silent Night for Christmas and Jesus Christ Is Risen Today for Easter. However, there are others that are less specific that work well throughout the season. Such is O the Joy of Easter Morning, an evocative text by R. Frederik Crider, Jr. (b, 1941) set to a lively tune by the Brazilian composer, Joa͂o Wilson Faustini (b. 1931). As the Hymn of the Month for May 2023, both text and tune could well be introduced to the congregation on the Fourth Sunday of Easter and sung every Sunday through Easter 7.
Crider is a retired United Methodist pastor who holds degrees from Lebanon Valley College (BA) in Annville, Pennsylvania; United Theological Seminary (MDiv) in Dayton, Ohio; and Wesley Theological Seminary (D. Min.) in Washington, DC. He has long been writing occasional hymn texts for use in congregations he served, usually to accompany a certain biblical text or preaching theme. Retirement has given him more time to devote to what he believes is a “second calling.” His first collection of hymn texts, Extravagance Instead, was published by Leupold Editions, Inc., in 2013. Faustini, a distinguished Brazilian church musician, choral conductor, composer, and hymnal editor, was educated in the United States at Westminster Choir College (BM) in Princeton, New Jersey, and at Union Theological
Seminary (MSM) in New York City. Three collections of Faustini’s hymn tunes, When Breaks the Dawn: Hymns from Brazil (2006), The Heavens Are Telling: More Hymns and Folk Tunes from Brazil (2011), and Adoro Te: Hymns with Brazilian Tunes (2014), have been published by Leupold Editions, Inc.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.