On March 19, 2022, Grammy-nominated Pacific Chorale will continue their season with “Songs of the Soul.”

This new program, led by artistic director Robert Istad, combines the work of six contemporary composers around the vocal symphony “On Leaving” by Galina Grigorjeva, a musical meditation on the liberation of the soul from the body, and the musical setting by Frank Martin’s Latin Mass, “Double Chorale.” The program also includes Pulitzer Prize-winning Caroline Shaw’s “And the Swallow,” a staging of Psalm 84 inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis; “Spiritus Mundi by Dale Trumbore, a hymn of gratitude for the land; Paul Fowler’s silent composition “Calling”; and “We Bloomed in Spring” by Edie Hills, a musical setting of a text by Saint Teresa of Avila.

“These six extraordinary choral works explore the concept of spirit from many angles,” says Istad. “For example, ‘On Leaving’ by Grigorjeva, who has been hailed as the first lady of Estonian choral music, is a magnificent meditation on death and the afterlife that captures the mystery of the afterlife with Neo-Gothic chant lines and enigmatic bells, revealing a modern take on Slavic chant that creates a kaleidoscope of harmonic-rich sounds.Swiss composer Frank Martin’s Mass for ‘Double Chorus’ is a tour de force that balances his respect for the Mass with a propensity for vocal fireworks.

The show will take place at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach. Tickets are available from $20, with audience members required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks in the venue.