This joyful Eastertide

This joyful Eastertide. Fred Pratt Green* (1903-2000). Pratt Green wrote of this hymn: ‘Experience has shown I made a serious error by repeating the first line of the famous hymn — this has led to some confusion’ (Scrapbook 1). He was referring to ‘This joyful Eastertide Away with sin and sorrow’* by G.R. Woodward*, from his Carols for Easter and Ascension (1894). The committee responsible for Hymns and Songs (1969) had requested Pratt Green to write an Easter hymn in simple language, set to the tune, VRUECHTEN (with which Woodward’s carol is invariably associated). Woodward’s text has retained its popularity, sometimes altered or shortened (it is found in BBCHB, RS, VU, A&MCP), but...