Christ the Lord is Risen Again

“Christ the Lord is Risen Again” or "Christus ist erstanden" was a German Christian hymn written in 1531 by Michael Weisse based on an earlier Bohemian hymn of the same name. The translation to English was a work by Catherine Winkworth. Initially a Bohemian language hymn of the Church of Bohemia, the hymn was based on a Latin sequence from 1100 called "Victimae paschali laudes." Weisse first printed the text in his German-language Ein Neugesängbuchlein hymnal in the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1531. Winkworth first translated the German title "Christus ist erstanden" into “Song of Triumph” in English. The hymn was published under the title “Christ the Lord is Risen Again” in her Lyra Germanica. Winkworth recreated the verses rather than translating it word per word because of German fusional language, some words in the original had to be removed in translation as they did not fit into the English translation. The hymn is usually used in Easter Sunday during the commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus.

The author, Michael Weisse, was a German theologian, hymn writer, and Protestant reformer. He was first a Franciscan and later joined the Bohemian Brethren. One of his most notable work was the early Protestant hymnal in 1531 where he contributed most hymn texts and some tunes himself.

Catherine Winkworth, the translator of the text, was born in 1827, and was commonly quoted as “the most gifted translator of any foreign sacred lyrics into our tongue, after Dr. Neale and John Wesley.” She devoted herself to translating German hymns in as accurately as possible. Her adaptations were the most famous and widely used than any other translators. Her works were widespread to the English-speaking Christians through the publication of her two series of Lyra Germanica, her Chorale Book, and her Christian Singers of Germany.