Who would think a mashup of Gospel and Orthodox music would be so smooth and invigorating? That’s what surprised me when I heard the Canon for Racial Reconciliation, presented by Cappella Romana March 1 at the First United Methodist Church.

The cantata deftly showed that the Gospel style, with it soulful, sliding tones, fit extremely well with the Orthodox style and its mixture of plaintive chant and subwoofer drone. Then there was the audience participation during the flat-out Gospel numbers that had everyone standing, clapping, and clearing their throats to sing some tricky syncopated phrases. That was a sight to behold.

Written over a period of three years by Nicholas Reeves and Isaac Cates, the Canon for Racial Reconciliation is based on a poem of the same name by Dr. Carla Thomas. She is a pediatrician in Alabama and a leader in the Fellowship of St. Moses the Black, an organization inspired by an Ethiopian saint. The main focus of the Fellowship centers on racial reconciliation as a ministry and sharing the Orthodox Christian faith with African Americans and people of color.

Divided into eight sections, Cappella Romana’s performance of the Canon for Racial Reconciliation used two choruses — one consisting of 15 classically trained singers and the other of 12 Gospel singers — plus a small but effective instrumental ensemble and prerecorded sermons of Black preachers such as Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, Aretha Franklin’s father, to deliver a 90-minute, high-spirited devotional.

Although the cantata was initially performed in Kansas City in late 2023, that performance left out one movement because of its high technical demands. So, Cappella Romana’s concerts in Seattle Feb. 28 and Portland marked the world premiere of the complete work.

Concertgoers enjoyed the music and text, which wove between religious texts and African-American spirituals arranged by Eva Jessye. Transitioning from Ode to Ode, according to Orthodox tradition, the cantata expressed frustration with racial wrongdoing, but it joyfully proclaimed faith in God to bring peace and understanding. The refrain of “Glory to God for all the flowers in His garden” effectively tied one section to another.

Guest conductor Anthony Maglione led the sections that interlaced the Gospel-Orthodox combinations. Cates, who fashioned a lovely and complex interlude on the piano at one point, directed the heavily Gospel sections, which delved into the call-and-response style that is central to many Black congregations.

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With his charismatic persona, Cates elevated the Gospel numbers, which got the chorus moving back and forth and the audience on its feet, singing and clapping.  The instrumental ensemble (violinist Alberta Barnes, pianist Cates, guitarist Mario Diaz, piano-and-organist Mont Chris Hubbard, trumpeter Joe Klause, drummer Richard Lawrence, and keyboardist Reeves) added just the right touch of sound to augment the singers. Sprinkled throughout were a number of solos, with Nicole Gregory impressing everyone with her vivaciousness and vocal prowess.

The Canon for Racial Reconciliation was the most unusual choral concert so far this year, and may have that claim for the next several years. Cappella Romana is planning to do more concerts that touch on African and African-American culture every year. So there will be more opportunities to hear new sounds and new expressions — and that will help to broaden our ability to get along with each other.