Christ is risen! Christ is risen! He hath burst, &c. A. T. Gurney. [Easter.] First published in his collection A Book of Praise, &c, 1862, No. 119, in 3 stanzas of 12 lines. It is in common use in three forms:—
1. The original, which is seldom found outside the author's Collection.
2. The text as in Church Hymns, 1871, No. 132. In the Church Times of Feb. 19, 1875, the author denounces this arrangement, whilst in the folio edition of Church Hymns. 1881, Mr. Ellerton (one of the editors) allows that “The variations in this hymn amount to an almost complete recasting of it. The fine conception of the hymn was grievously marred by faulty execution, and sincere thanks are due to the author for permitting his original to be so daringly manipulated" (p. xlii.). This text has been introduced into American use through the Church Praise Book, N. Y., 1882.
3. The text as in Hymns Ancient & Modern 1875, No. 138. Against this also the author complains in the same letter to the Church Times. It also has been introduced into American common use. It was given in Laudes Domini, N. Y., 1884.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
Gurney, Archer Thompson, was born in 1820, and educated for the legal profession. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple, but in 1849 he entered Holy Orders. He held several appointments, including the Curacy of Buckingham, 1854-58; the Chaplaincy of the Court Church, Paris, 1858-71, and other charges. He died at Bath, March 21, 1887. His published works include:—
Spring, 1853; Songs of the Present, 1854; The Ode of Peace, 1855; Songs of Early Summer, 1856; and A Book of Praise, 1862.
To the Book of Praise he contributed 147 hymns. Very few of these are known beyond his own collection. He is widely known through his Easter hymn “Christ is risen, Christ is risen." His "Memory of the blest departed" (SS. Philip and James) is in t… Go to person page >
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