The kyrie is one of the oldest prayers in the Christian church. For those churches that follow the church calendar, or even for those who don’t but would like to recover some of the rich history and rhythm of the church calendar for your church, Lent is a appropriate penitential time to incorporate this reverent prayer; during a time of confession or before the Lord’s Supper. There are thousands of settings of the kyrie eleison, and this is a great time to have the/a choir perform a more liturgical function – choir singing the “Lord have mercy” response to the congregation, or sing with the congregation, leading them in a choral response to the spoken prayer. Below is a short prayerful setting in which I composed the music, and included is an opening sentence for the leader followed by a time of silent meditation. This also allows for a oft ignored element in our services together – Silence. We are often uncomfortable with long silences, feeling like things should be moving along, or “something” should be happening. Wether you use this setting, write one of your own, or use one of the many other settings in existence, I hope this Lent, and throughout the year, you can recover this reflective, penitential, and silently prayerful time as a worshipping community.
Pageant Music 
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