O blessed spring

O blessed spring. Susan Palo Cherwien* (1953– )  ‘O blessed spring’ was written in 1993 and first appeared as a choral anthem (1994) in a setting by Robert Buckley Farlee*, followed by a second choral setting entitled Life Tree by the author’s husband David Cherwien* (Herl et al., 2019, p. 595). The first appearance in a hymnal was in the Canadian VU (1996) and then in the author’s collection O Blessed Spring: Hymns of Susan Palo Cherwien (Minneapolis, 1997). Since these publications, the hymn has been included in at least ten mainline hymnals and hymnal supplements in the USA and Canada.  The images of ‘O Blessed Spring’ represent the seasons of life. Each stanza unfolds like a bud into a...