Good Friday Cantata by Bob Franke
To be performed March 29, 2024, 8 p.m.
The performance will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel • View the program here
Beginning in 1980, vocal and instrumental performers from New England and beyond—including the St. Andrew’s choir—gathered annually to participate in Meditations on the Passion, a Good Friday cantata by recording artist and songwriter Bob Franke. With two years out for the global pandemic, in 2022 all gathered for a special 40th-anniversary performance, which coincided with the issuance of a first-ever studio recording of the cantata. After that performance, the cantata moved to an every-other-year schedule. In 2024, the cantata will be performed Good Friday, March 29.
Soloists will include Howard Bursen, Bob Franke, Martin Grosswendt, Ellen Groves, Chelsea Haynes, Doug Johnson, Kristian Mitchell, Sally Rogers, and Christopher Stockwell.
Instrumentalists will include William Bueno, Martin Grosswendt, Ellen Groves, Joshua Levin-Epstein, and Dave Mattacks.
A goodwill offering of $10 is payable at the door.
CDs of the cantata
Although several of the individual songs have been recorded by different artists, the cantata itself had never before been recorded as a complete work. Despite the pandemic, work on the recording proceeded—spurred by the energy around the 40th anniversary—with efforts led by the talented percussionist and music producer Dave Mattacks. With COVID safety protocols in effect, individual artists traveled to the Boston area to record their vocal and instrumental parts. Finally, in the summer of 2021, cantata alumni of our choir gathered to record their parts, standing in the church sanctuary where the cantata is traditionally sung.
Performers on the CD include soloists Geoff Bartley, Howie Bursen, Bob Franke, Buffie Groves, Chuck Hall, Reggie Harris, Doug Johnson, Kate Katzberg, Sally Rogers, Claudia Schmidt, Kate Seeger, Kim Wallach, and Larry Young; and instrumentalists Mike Barry, Paul Combs, Martin Grosswendt, Joshua Levin-Epstein, and Dave Mattacks with special guests Paul Ahlstrand, Duke Levine, and Simon Nicol.
The chorus: Dulany Alexander, Susan Burgess, Margaret Eckman, John Howard, Thomas (TJ) Jacobs, Jan McLanahan, Tim Parker, Carroll Perry, Cary Perry, Chris Stockwell, and Penny Stratton.
CDs may purchased via BobFranke.com at a cost of $10.
Listen to the spectacular Claudia Schmidt sing “Roll Away the Waters”:
Copyright © 1980 by Robert J. Franke
Although the story we retell here is at the core of Christianity, it is not necessarily about being a Christian. It’s about being human in the presence of the Divine, and it’s about the presence of Redemption in the midst of the most horrific and tragic dimensions of the human condition. — Bob Franke
[Franke] takes the story of the Passion and shines a light on it from the perspective of a person living in this modern era. . . . Let the light shine on the old story of the passion and find in it a new entry into the many issues it teases up in your life. Sit with it. Meditating on the Passion should bring us to such a place. — Rev. C. Clyde Elledge
Century Celebration, 2023–24! In preparation for our centennial, we are making plans for a year's worth of celebrations. We will be asking all of you for ideas and assistance. 