Discovering ‘Up from the Grave He Arose’
By: Rob Lynch, Director of Traditional Music
Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
Early into our Lenten journey this year, Pastor Tom and I were discussing Easter Sunday. “Well, at least you know what the closing hymn will be — that’s one less thing to worry about!”
Did I?
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (#302) has always been my go-to recessional hymn for Easter Sunday. So when I had it listed in our planning notes, you can imagine Pastor Tom’s surprise. I soon learned that the tried-and-true standard here is Up from the Grave He Arose — a new hymn text and tune to me!
Hymn author Robert Lowry was a Baptist pastor who began his ministry in eastern Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s. I was already familiar with many of his other hymns: Shall We Gather at the River?, Nothing but the Blood of Jesus, We're Marching to Zion, and How Can I Keep from Singing? — but Up from the Grave I had never played or even heard.
Having composed both the melody and the text, Lowry beautifully weds the lyrics of the verses and refrain with their contrasting melodies and styles — the verses portray the buried Jesus, while the refrain proclaims His triumphant rising from the dead. Both melodically and rhythmically, the verse of the hymn is very simple and subdued, which makes the refrain all the more exuberant.
(Of further harmonic interest for the music theory lovers in the congregation: the verses do not end on the I chord, but the V chord, leaving us with a "musical comma," not a period. In other words — it can’t end here; the chord implores us to go on, just as the resurrection story cannot end in the grave!)
In the refrain, Lowry uses march-like dotted rhythms, a lower voice echoing "He arose," and large melodic leaps to further celebrate the resurrection. One of my favorite Christmas hymns employs a similar musical technique: We Three Kings. The verses are written in a minor key, then give way to a bright and uplifting refrain.
I am delighted to now know this incredible Easter hymn written in the same style. Thank you for teaching it to me!