This collection of five preludes for Lent is another stunning addition to the Hymn Tune Innovations series. Benjamin M. Culli has composed five accessible preludes for use during the Lenten season. These preludes are appropriate for use from Ash Wednesday through Good Friday, showcasing familiar tunes and those that might be new to your congregation. 

Lent is a reflective and beautiful time in the Church Year. As we prepare to enter this season, you may notice some children are more familiar with this time as one to “take a break” from something they enjoy. Many choose things such as limiting their phone time. Or, for young adults, less dependency on caffeine. But Lent holds so much more meaning than simply a time of withdrawal from something we desire. It’s filled with rich history, ceremony, and faithful hymns. For a deeper understanding of what this season holds for believers, let’s look to the hymns in One and All Rejoice. 

Five Lenten Hymns for Two-Part Choir is a collection of five two-part choir settings highlighting new hymn texts for Lent by hymn writers such as Lisa M. Clark and Stephen P. Starke. The music includes optional congregation stanzas and features settings by Benjamin M. Culli, Jonathan Kohrs, Matthew Machemer, and Jacob B. Weber. Choirs and congregations will find these pieces to be well-crafted while remaining approachable during the busy season of Lent.

Planning the music for Lenten services can be a monumental task. Not only are there Sunday services but midweek and Holy Week services too. Open up your options with digital music that you can preview, download, and print instantly. These five hand-picked selections are perfect for the Lenten season and Holy Week to share with your church.

There are many ways to teach children about Jesus, and music has been proven to be one way that is beneficial. Through the repetition of music, both in the melody and in the words themselves, children can easily pick up important theological themes and Bible stories. This makes for easy learning of complex topics students can build on as they grow older. Either at home or at school, consider these children’s hymns as an opportunity to guide children in worship during this sacred season of Holy Week and Easter.

If you’re looking for some special music to incorporate into your repertoire this season, here are some of our recently added Lenten selections to check out. 

To mark the first day of Lent, we’re sharing an excerpt from Heaven on Earth in which Arthur Just describes the theological accents in the season of Lent.

Robert J. Powell has composed a well-crafted and accessible organ collection for Lent, Cross of Jesus: Six Preludes for Lent. This book offers settings that are appropriate to the season, such as “Go to Dark Gethsemane,” “Jesus, I Will Ponder Now,” and “Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow.” Each setting offers a series of key and tempo changes. The final setting, “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me,” offers a joyful, majestic ending to an otherwise somber piece.