We've Just Seen Jesus!
- Text Writer: Carol McClure
- Worship Use: Easter
- Vocal Part(s): Unison
- Vocal Range: f sharp - e’
- Key: E major
- Meter: 4/4
- Accompanying Instrument(s): congas, tambourine, triangle and piano
Target Age Group: Grades 3-6 or Grades K-2
Difficulty: Moderately Easy for Grades 3-6; Moderate for Grades K-2 (due to the irregular rhythm patterns, syncopation and random bars of rest)
Description: We’ve Just Seen Jesus is a unique Easter anthem in our Viva Voce 2011- 2012 curriculum. Composed by Randy Cox, accompanied by percussion and piano, this anthem is one that “sneaks up on you”. The piece begins quietly with the words, “Early morning, even before the sunrise” and concludes with the alternately jubilant and reflective statement, “We’ve Just Seen Jesus!” We’ve Just Seen Jesus affords the choristers many opportunities to decipher syncopated rhythm patterns, to sing exposed intervals with little melodic support from the piano, and to learn to play their own percussion accompaniment. This anthem is ideal as a choral introit for an Easter sunrise service.
Anthem Warm-Ups
- bars 28-38: intervallic differences, intervallic accuracy
- random two-bar units: reading/singing rhythms and pitches accurately
Teaching Points
- Rhythm/Meter: Reading/singing similar but not identical patterns
- Vocal Production/Interpretation: Singing with dynamics; shaping short phrases
- Intervallic Tuning: Tuning series of intervals
- Instrumental Exploration: Learning percussion parts
Early morning, even before the sunrise. We look for Jesus: an angel is speaking, "Why do you look here for the living among the dead? Just as Jesus said, he is not in the tomb." We want to tell the story, Walking on the road, Jesus walks with us. Now we must tell the story! We've just seen Jesus!