Easter is fast approaching, and every musician knows how important the beautiful organ, piano, handbells, and choral singers are on that Sunday morning. Hearing the resurrection bells in a sanctuary filled with Christ’s presence and victory fills people with joy. Here are five downloadable sheet music pieces to use during the Easter season at your church.

This collection by Benjamin Kolodziej features Easter organ settings of moderate difficulty. Each employs various musical textures to convey the spirit of the hymn texts to the congregation. From meditative and lush treatments of LANCASHIRE and VRUECHTEN to a sprightly trio arrangement of BESANÇON to a setting of DUKE STREET suitable for showcasing a solo trumpet, organists will find these settings invigorating and fun to play.

A perfect selection for the Easter season comes in this SATB anthem based on Romans 6:9. Beginning with joyous alleluias, the music rises in sequence, portraying the text “raised from the dead.” The melodic sequences and voice leading make the music easy to learn while still sounding dramatic and powerful.

Holy Week, that crowning week of the Church Year taking us through the Passion of our Lord to His glorious resurrection, has passed and with it some of the most beautiful and wonderful music many of us hear in church during the year. I invite you to take a moment to reflect on that music and to revel in your recollection.

This post is adapted from The Year of the Lord by Theodore J. Kleinhans.

Just as the first Easter set the pattern for Sunday, so it also set the pattern for the Church Year. An event of such significance as the resurrection soon formed a natural focus for the entire year. No wonder one of the Church Fathers called it the festival of all festivals—the festum festorum.

Hart Morris’s arrangement of “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands” is a Level III piece scored for 3–5 octave handbells. With roots in the Ancient Church and strong theological undercurrents, the piece is well placed on Easter Day or any Sunday during the Easter season.

Lent has started and Easter is quickly approaching! If you’re scrambling to find music selections for your church, don’t worry—there are tons of options available. Browse the list below to discover pieces that will work for the musicians at your church. Explore pieces for organ, handbell, choirs, and instrumentalists (with or without choral accompaniment). 

As I reflect on the glorious triumph of the Easter season, I remember the final hymn my congregation sang on Easter Sunday: “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing” (LSB 633). One of my all-time favorite hymns, it has a text that rightly captures both the joy of the day and the ultimate joy of the glorious Easter feast of heaven.

Easter is a time of rejoicing, and one of the best ways to rejoice is to throw a feast. In fact, for the past several Easter Sundays, I have had the opportunity to celebrate with food and fellowship. This feasting is a continuation of the joy of the Sunday-morning proclamation that “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” It is also a foretaste of the celebration of heaven, that great feast of victory.

Inside the Easter section of Lutheran Service Book, you’ll find thirty-four hymns for the season. With so many choices, it would be impossible to sing them all on Easter Sunday! But are we in the habit of returning to the same favorites over and over and perhaps neglecting some true gems? Explore our collection of five hymns that you may not be singing on Easter Sunday, or even during Eastertide, and discover why these treasures of the Church deserve a second look. You will be blessed!