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A Personal Reflection on Lenten Choral Music
There’s something about the music of Lent that feels like stepping into a dark forest, with sunlight streaming through the trees. The world quiets down. Time feels slower. As a choral musician, I’ve always been drawn to this season—not just because of its spiritual significance, but because of the soundscape it creates. Lent doesn’t beg for grandeur. It doesn’t sparkle. It listens. It waits.
Unlike the jubilant brilliance of Christmas or Easter, Lenten music often lives in minor modes, with gentle dissonances that ache more than they resolve. There’s a tenderness in the restraint, a kind of sacred intimacy. It gives you space to reflect and it doesn’t rush to comfort you.
I had the pleasure of attending this past weekend’s Palm Sunday concert, sung by Cantores in Ecclesia, featuring Robert White’s Lamentations of Jeremiah à 5, Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsoria, and Francis Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence. Poulenc’s motets are a challenge for even the most seasoned professional choirs, and Cantores performed them with both precision and expressive beauty. The concert made my heart ache—in that rare, luminous way that only sacred music can. In the days since, I’ve found myself returning to thoughts of Lenten music—how it carves space for stillness, sorrow, and longing, and gently prepares the heart for joy on the far side of darkness.
Choral music I return to this time of year
Here are some of the recordings I find myself revisiting every Lent – whether they are pieces I have sung, or pieces I have listened to.
J.S. Bach – St. John Passion Performed by Portland Baroque Orchestra and Cappella Romana I had the privilege of singing on this recording, and it remains one of the most vivid and emotional interpretations I’ve ever experienced. The experience of having recorded and toured with this work adds to the joy of revisiting this during Lent every year.
Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories and Victoria’s Lamentations for Holy Saturday Performed by Tenebrae A stunning contrast between Gesualdo’s raw, chromatic anguish and Victoria’s luminous polyphony – both perfect for Holy Week reflection.
James MacMillan – Seven Last Words from the Cross Performed by Polyphony This one is slightly less meditative, but remains one of the most powerful Lenten works I have ever heard. Precise, expressive, and sometimes aggressive, reverent and unrestrained. A journey through grief and grace.
About the guest author
Stephanie Noble grew up in Portland’s choral community. She has sung, over the past 30 years, with nearly every professional choral group in town, including Cantores in Ecclesia, Cappella Romana, Choral Cross-Ties, and The Ensemble, and was involved in the founding of the social justice-focused choral group Resonance Ensemble. She has retired from singing and is now Development Associate for Annual Giving for the Oregon Symphony. She is married to Charles Noble, Assistant Principal Violist of the Oregon Symphony. Her artistic path reflects a lifelong commitment to nurturing Portland’s vibrant arts scene—both as a performer and an advocate.