by Merrin Lazyan

Choral music uses human voices to tell human stories. From the sacred to the secular, the sorrowful to the celebratory, there is something profoundly moving about voices raised together in song. Much of the sacred choral music sung around the world on Easter Sunday is drawn from hymns, Biblical texts and ancient chants and prayers. For hundreds of years, composers have been inspired by these texts to set the solemnity of Holy Week and the exultation of Easter to music.

With Easter soon upon us, we asked some of the best choral conductors from around the world to share with us their favorite Easter pieces. Their responses take us from the 16th century straight through to the present day, showing us the breadth of extraordinary holy music to enjoy. 

1. “Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today” (David Hayes, New York Choral Society)

The repeated refrain of “Alleluia” in this hymn beautifully captures the exultant spirit of Easter Day. In fact, for David Hayes of the New York Choral Society, no piece of music does this better:

For me, nothing distills the feelings of Easter Morning better than the hymn “Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today” with organ and brass blaring in glorious sound. It’s the Easter processional for most churches — especially in the Anglican tradition. So stirring, so triumphant after the darkness of Holy Week!

 

2. “Worthy is the Lamb” from Handel’s Messiah (Dennis Keene, Voices of Ascension)

Despite its regular appearance at Christmastime, much of Handel’s Messiahtells the story of Christ’s death, resurrection and ultimate ascension. The final chorus, “Worthy is the lamb,” tells of the acclamation of the Messiah — his acceptance into Heaven. This piece is particularly special for Dennis Keene:

My favorite Easter Sunday piece is, hands down, “Worthy is the Lamb” from Messiah. Is this Handel’s single greatest chorus? I think it is. It never fails to inspire me. I still get goose bumps performing it. And to do it in the Easter Sunday liturgy, with a packed church, and incense so thick I can hardly see the choir, is one of the most amazing experiences of my musical year.

 

3. Bach’s Easter Oratorio (Eric Whitacre, Eric Whitacre Singers)

As an avid admirer of Bach, Eric Whitacre turns to the Easter Oratorio to honor the holiday. Although the piece does not include any Biblical text, the sequence of movements loosely narrates the Resurrection story. The original version from 1725 had very little choral music, but Bach’s revised version expanded the role of the chorus. The triumphal trumpets in the opening Sinfonia and the jubilant first chorus of the oratorio perfectly set the scene for Easter day.

 

4. The 6th Movement from Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem (Kent Tritle, Cathedral of St. John the Divine)

In its earliest version, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem was first performed on Good Friday in 1868 with Brahms conducting. The composer was so familiar with the Bible that he put together the text of this Requiem himself. Although the title highlights the German text, Brahms considered this a “human” requiem, written to offer hope and comfort to every living person. The sixth movement particularly stands out for Kent Tritle:

One of my favorite Easter pieces which we sing at the Cathedral is the sixth movement of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. The glorious and triumphant battle with Death at the sound of the last trumpet, depicted in the scripture which Brahms personally chose for this movement, is set by Brahms as one of the most transcendent and Afterlife affirming moments in all of music!

With music this powerful, death has no sting.

 

 

5. Orlando di Lasso’s “Surgens Jesus” (Mark Shapiro, Cantori New York and The Cecilia Chorus of New York)

In the 16th century, the Franco-Flemish composer Orlando di Lasso composed a staggering number of masses, motets, Magnificats, songs and madrigals. “Surgens Jesus” is one of his a cappella motets, and its brief text captures Jesus’ first encounter with the disciples after he rises from the dead. Mark Shapiro notes, “The rising octaves in this dramatic setting speak for themselves!”

 

6. Mascagni’s Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana (Stephen Cleobury, King’s College Choir Cambridge)

The events of Pietro Mascagni’s one-act opera Cavalleria Rusticana take place in a 19th-century Italian village on Easter day. The story is filled with seduction, betrayal and jealousy, but the Easter hymn is simply divine. It begins with just a solo organ playing from inside a church. The organ is then joined by the full chorus, orchestra and solo soprano, until nearly the entire cast of the opera is onstage for this grand operatic scene. This is a special favorite of Stephen Cleobury and the King’s College Choir, Cambridge:

I have so many Easter favourites, it is difficult to answer your question. But this year, for the annual TV broadcast in the UK — Easter from King’s — which is aired on the evening of Holy Saturday / Easter Eve, we have included the Easter Hymn from the opera Cavalleria Rusticana. The Choir enjoyed singing this enormously, and it was so popular at the time we recorded it in December, that I have programmed it again for our Easter Day evensong. Its spaciousness suits the acoustic of King’s College Chapel very well.

7. Tomás Luis de Victoria’s “Dic nobis, Maria” (Robert Quinney, Choir of New College Oxford)

Tomás Luis de Victoria was the most famous composer of the Counter-Reformation in 16th century Spain. His music expressed the spirit of religion and Spanish mysticism. His setting of “Dic nobis, Maria” unusually omits the first three lines of the Victimae paschali laudes text and its homophonic voicing — with the accompanying parts moving in the same rhythm as the melody — looks forward to early Baroque style. Robert Quinney of the Choir of New College Oxford had a difficult time choosing just one Easter favorite, but he ultimately settled on this one:

The text is part of the sequence for Easter Day Victimae paschali laudes, and takes the form of a dialogue between different groups of voices. The refrain ‘Tell us, Mary [Magdalene], what did you see in the way?’ is sung by an eight-voice choir, while the ‘answers’ are sung by a semichorus of higher voices. The refrain is heard first, then repeated between each answering phrase, before a closing paragraph confirms our belief in the resurrection. The refrain is in a dancing triple time, with the ‘answer’ sections in a more stately duple meter. Throughout there is a sense of irrepressible excitement, as phrases are thrown between two equal groups of singers in the refrain, and the piece ends in a glorious blaze of sound. I love performing it with New College Choir!

 

8. William Byrd’s “Haec Dies” (William Fred Scott, Chanticleer)

William Fred Scott of Chanticleer singled out an Easter favorite: “Haec Dies” by William Byrd. This six-voice setting of Psalm 117:24 is from the third of Byrd’s collections of sacred songs, and it perfectly captures the joyful resurrection of Christ.

 

9. Alessandro Striggio’s “Missa sopra Ecco si beato giorno” (Robert Hollingworth, I Fagiolini)

An Italian composer and diplomat of the Renaissance, Alessandro Striggio composed many madrigals and some dramatic music. But his largest-scale work is the “Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno,” a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass composed for 40 independent parts. Robert Hollingworth of I Fagiolini says that this piece, which was lost for more than 400 years and recently rediscovered in Paris, gives us a real “Renaissance bang,” and honors the fact that “on Easter Day itself, the celebration of the mass is paramount.”

 

 

In addition to Easter, plenty of beautiful music has been written in honor of Holy Week, too.

10. “Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder” from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion(Simon Halsey, London Symphony Chorus)

One of the masterpieces of sacred classical music, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is the second of the composer’s two Passion oratorios. Simon Halsey of the London Symphony Chorus says that “Bach’s passions are the most complete description of the Easter story and its human consequences.”The St. Matthew Passion sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew to music, combining solemn chorales and stunning arias. The final chorus, “Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder,” is a spellbinding musical offering to Jesus Christ in his tomb, wishing him a blissful rest. “In the last number, the story is complete and we ask for peace and rest — so vital in today’s crazy world!”

  

11. Szymanowski’s “Stabat Mater” (Mark Shapiro, Cantori New York and The Cecilia Chorus of New York) 

There is perhaps no more heartbreaking Holy Week hymn than the “Stabat Mater,” which portrays Mary’s suffering during the crucifixion of Christ. Mark Shapiro says, “The Stabat Mater text lends itself to so many beautiful and impassioned inflections of mood.” Many composers throughout history have set out to convey a mother’s boundless anguish at the moment she loses hers son, with notable settings by Palestrina and Pergolesi. Shapiro’s favorite “Stabat Mater” is Karol Szymanowski’s 1926 version, because it “movingly projects tones of grief, loss, and redemption.”

 

12. James MacMillan’s “Stabat Mater” (Harry Christophers, The Sixteen)

More recently, Scottish composer James MacMillan tried his hand at a brand new “Stabat Mater,” which was premiered by The Sixteen at the Barbican Centre in October 2016, conducted by Harry Christophers. MacMillan uses a choir and string orchestra to tell the crucifixion story through Mary’s eyes, and uses many techniques to vary the music over the course of 20 verses. Harry Christophers believes that MacMillan has found a new and powerful way of expressing the immense sorrow of this piece:

The musical world has waited a long time for a substantial setting of the Stabat Mater. The last major renditions were the very personal and powerful settings of Karol Szymanowski in 1928 and Francis Poulenc in 1951. Sixty years on we are witness to a new and equally personal work which encapsulates the power of the poem in a way no other composer has done to date. This is a masterpiece. James digs deep underneath the surface of this 13th-century Marian hymn meditating on Mary’s suffering as she stands at the foot of the cross. He speaks of “a painful world of loss, violence and spiritual desolation,” and the score is packed to the full with those intense feelings. Experiences like this come, if we are lucky, perhaps once in a lifetime.

 

13. I monte Oliveti from Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories(Jonathan Howard, The King’s Singers)

This stirring a cappella work by the Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo consists of three sets of nine short pieces — one set each for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Throughout these Passion madrigals, Gesualdo uses sharp and surprising dissonances to convey Christ’s suffering. Jonathan Howard of The King’s Singers finds this piece particularly moving:

One work that truly blows my mind is Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories. True to form, the harmonies he uses are so rich — even intentionally jarring at times — that you can really feel all the passion of Jesus’ crucifixion. I challenge anyone not to be be stirred and challenged when they hear this extraordinary piece. I think my very favourite movement (because they’re all incredible) is right at the beginning — In monte oliveti. It’s stunningly beautiful.

 

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