The following pages describe music composed to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.
Hymns for Easter — Recordings of six of the most popular Easter hymns, including our 2020 “Choir in Quarantine” recording of “Jesus Christ is ris’n today”
Jean Richafort (c. 1480–c. 1547), Christus resurgens — This setting of verses from Romans 6 is by an early Renaissance composer from the Low Countries
Jean l’Héritier (c. 1480–1551), Surrexit pastor bonus — A motet by a French Renaissance composer declares “The good shepherd has arisen”
Francisco Guerrero (1528–1599), Maria Magdalena et altera Maria — One of Spain’s greatest composers depicts the arrival by women at an empty tomb
Peter Philips (1561–1621), Christus resurgens — Another setting of this Easter text, by a celebrated Tudor-era composer
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Christ lag in Todesbanden (“Christ lay in death’s bonds”) — Bach’s most famous Easter cantata
J. S. Bach, Easter Oratorio — An exuberant celebration of the Resurrection, a work marked by comfort, consolation, hope, love, praise, and thanksgiving.