Lenten Playlist

I've always had a thing for Lent. 

(I've blogged about it on multiple occasions before, in fact.)

This year when Ash Wednesday popped up, I had a re-realization of the inspiring, passionate, and meaningful nature of Lenten music. I have known this to be true for many years, but I kind of spaced out this time around. 

I love Lenten music so much that I've created an entire playlist of selections. 

It's quite a wide variety of tunes, ranging from Broadway to chant, folk to hymns, choral anthems to rap. It used to be a hodgepodge of things in a random order, but a year or two ago I decided to organize the list roughly according to the events of Holy Week. I don't claim for this list to be anywhere near an all encompassing of Lenten music, as it leaves out a vast amount of great hymns (including but not limited to O Sacred Head Now Wounded and What Wondrous Love is This). Surprisingly, there's no Taize music in this list either; I'm a huge fan of that meditative style of worship music, and many fit very well into Lent. For my playlist as it currently exists, I've included links to just about every song, should you choose to listen and don't have the music already. The album "Songs for Lent" by New York Hymns is available for free download on Noisetrade, along with two other Lent-related albums that I discovered this evening. 

May the music of the season lead you to contemplate your place in creation, the enormity of God's love, and the gravity of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Palm Sunday

Hosanna (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

Holy Week (Monday through Wednesday)

Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery (a version my mom and I did at church last year, and this congregational hymn version)

Show Me (Audrey Assad)

Maundy Thursday

Communion Cups and Someone's Coat (Iron and Wine)

Receive Who You Are (Joe Uveges - the story behind the song is really thought provoking, so I recommend listening to the whole video)

Dust in the Wind (Kansas - truthfully, I think this fits well with Ash Wednesday)

Music for Maundy Thursday (Palestrina - there are ten tracks, and here's the first one.)

Shadows Lengthen into Night (a cover I made)

Albinoni Adagio (Canadian Brass)

When You Prayed Beneath the Trees (choral anthem - from my church in Prairie du Chien)

Gethsemane (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

Good Friday

Trial Before Pilate (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

Stations of the Cross 1-11 (from the album "Songs for Lent" by New York Hymns)

Crucified (choral anthem - from my church in Prairie du Chien)

Adagio for Strings (Samuel Barber)

Stations of the Cross 12-14 (from the album "Songs for Lent" by New York Hymns)

Holy Saturday

Lamentations for Holy Saturday (Palestrina)

Easter Sunday

Can't Hold Us (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - I will forever connect this song with Easter because of its presence in our hip hop Easter Vigil when I worked at All Peoples in MKE. The grave can't hold Jesus, and as a result, death can't hold us!)

Arise King Jesus (choral anthem - from my church in Prairie du Chien)

Root This Mountain Down (from the album "Songs for Lent" by New York Hymns)

Hallelujah Chorus (from Handel's Messiah)