On Driving Home the Faith, Ken Craycraft welcomes back Dr. Christopher Holman, Director of Music and Assistant Professor of Music at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology and Director of Music at St. Gertrude Church in Madeira.

Dr. Holman previews the upcoming Sacred Music Series at St. Gertrude, which opens Friday, September 11, with one of the masterpieces of Western sacred music: J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor.

Ken and Dr. Holman explore what makes this performance unique, including the use of 18th-century instruments and reproductions modeled on the instruments Bach himself would have known. They discuss gut strings, the distinctive “earthy” sound of period instruments, and why historically informed performances can give modern audiences a fascinating glimpse into the musical world of the Baroque era.

But there is also a fascinating mystery surrounding Bach’s Mass in B Minor: Bach never heard the complete work performed during his lifetime. Dr. Holman explains the theories about why Bach composed such an enormous and ambitious Mass—including the possibility that it served as a kind of compositional portfolio or represented Bach’s effort to create a definitive work demonstrating the pinnacle of his craft.

The conversation also explores the surprising Catholic connection to a work written by a Lutheran composer. Although Bach was Lutheran, the Mass in B Minor contains the complete Latin Mass Ordinary and can be performed within the context of the Catholic liturgy.

Bach’s Mass in B Minor
📅 Friday, September 11, 2026
🕖 7:00 p.m.
📍 St. Gertrude Church, Madeira, Ohio

Tickets: $25 general admission | $10 students | Children under 12 free | $60 family admission for everyone living under the same roof.

Tickets are available through St. Gertrude or at the door.

A fascinating conversation about Bach, sacred music, Catholic and Lutheran musical traditions, and the extraordinary sound of instruments from Bach’s own era.