Lent/Easter Musicals

2 55/1185&86L-2 Foreword "Love" is a word that gets bantered about in our world in so many ways. It is very easy to express our love for someone or something. But expressions mean little if there are not actions to support them. Jesus said in so many ways that He loved the people He had come to save; the people with whom He associated on a daily basis. His actions underscored His words as He redeemed, taught, healed, and encouraged those whose lives He touched. at was never in doubt for those who truly knew Him. Ultimately, Jesus sacrificed His life as a final act of love. In His own words, He had provided a glimpse of what was to come: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) ough His followers did not immediately grasp the impact of His death in the events of that grim day, the significance of His sacrifice was soon realized as they witnessed the living Christ in the days following the resurrection. e power of God's love that raised Jesus from the dead radically changed His closest followers and all who experienced that love through these first century witnesses. And that incomparable love continues to reverberate and change lives today centuries after Christ walked this earth. e message of this cantata leads us along a rugged path to the cross, a symbol of Christ's sacrifice and love. But then it makes its way to an empty tomb, a symbol God's power and triumph! As you prepare this music, may you be reminded of the love that Jesus had for you and me even as He prayed for us on the night before His crucifixion: "I am not praying for these alone (the disciples), but also for the future believers who will come to Me because of their testimony." (John 17:20) It is my prayer that this cantata will enable you to gain a deeper understanding of God's great love through Jesus. It has been my pleasure to collaborate with an esteemed team of colleagues in the creation of this work. Not only do I know each of these individuals as superb musicians, but I know them as people of deep faith. When one combines those two qualities, good things happen in a project like this. Together we have been able to shape a resource that I trust will enhance the Lenten and/or Holy Week worship experiences for your choir and congregation. —Lloyd Larson, Editor Production Notes What Love Is is? is a flexibly conceived worship resource suitable for Lent, Palm/Passion Sunday, or Holy Week programming. Each individual anthem may be presented at various times during the Lenten season, or the entire cantata may be performed as a whole in a single worship experience, depending on programming needs. Small and large choirs alike will find the choral writing appealing and versatile. Accompaniment options ranging from piano only to full orchestra with CD accompaniment or live instruments ensures maximum flexibility for your unique music and worship situation. Notice to customers: Within each cantata, we will print the following statement about these graphics files: Lorenz is happy to provide to you downloadable images/graphics to help enhance your presentation of this work. ese images are royalty-free, which means that you can use them for free promotional items like bulletins, posters, and fliers. We do request that you only use these for promotion of a live performance of a Lorenz piece. To access these files, please visit www.lorenz.com/downloads and navigate to the desired folder. PC users should right click and choose "Save Target As..." and Macintosh users should click and hold the link, then choose "Save Target As..." We have provided standard file formats that should be usable in most page layout or word processing software. If you are having difficulties, we suggest using the help feature of your particular software concerning images. Due to the vast number of differences in computer system setups, we are unable to provide technical support for downloadable images/graphics by either phone or email. For Preview Only

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