Louder Than The Music

It's been six years since Fernando Ortega last released an album, and his new work The Crucifixion of Jesus finds him creating music in mainly the same vein as he has been for the past decade, featuring a gorgeous collection of hymn arrangements and spiritual songs. And yet this new work finds the New Mexican singer-songwriter beginning to paint on a much larger canvas. The Crucifixion of Jesus is the beginning of a multi-album work spanning the seasons of the Church calendar. He has begun with Holy Week and the death of Christ and hopes to continue on in the coming years to the Resurrection, Pentecost, Advent, Christmas, and Lent.

The songs on the album zero in on the last week of Jesus' life, ending with the crucifixion, which might be surprising to listeners. We are used to Christmas albums and Easter plays, but we are not used to dwelling only on the lead up to Christ's death, his trial, and his crucifixion unless they go on to resolve into the glory and victory of his resurrection. We must instead think of the album as a mediation and call to worship set simply within Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. In this way, the work very much in the tradition of a cantata or “Lessons and Carols”, in that it continually goes back and forth between the songs and a number of Scripture readings that progress the story, following this order:

An introductory call to worship: "Blessed Be Our God
The Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday: "Prepare the Way, O Zion"
The Cleansing of the Temple: "House of Prayer"
The Last Supper and Christ's Words of Institution: "In My Father's Kingdom"
Jesus and the Disciples Praying and Watching in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Stay With Me Here" and "Your Will Be Done"
Jesus's Trial and Torture: "O Great Love, O Love Beyond All Measure"
The Cross...: "Ah, Holy Jesus, How Have You Offended", "My Song is Love Unknown"
The Last Words of Christ and Psalm 22: "Psalm 22" and "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted"

One of the more noteworthy aspects of the album is just exactly what Ortega is doing with the songs. To start with, his own compositions draw directly from Scripture passages rarely set to music, most notably on "House of Prayer", "My Father's Kingdom", "Stay With Me Here", and "Your Will Be Done". These types of songs are incredibly tricky to pull off as Scripture texts are not always poetically compelling or rhythmically compliant. But Ortega makes the texts feel like a natural fit for his music. Next, what he does with a number of the hymns is also noteworthy, as it is also not easy to set old hymns to new music. For "Ah Holy Jesus How Have You Offended" he manages to write a new melody that already feels ancient and timeless, and for "My Song is Love Unknown”, along with another new melody he attaches a Western shuffle beat, a great guitar solo, and makes every even numbered verses into a chorus, making the hymn feel like an entirely new work. The ease with which Ortega pulls off these two songwriting skills is amazing.

Instrumentally, the album utilizes Ortega's by now well-established instrumental staples: piano, a female background vocalist, cello, violin, a periodic guitar, often unconventional percussion, and of course his own somber and soothing voice. Although Ortega recorded most of his own tracks alone in his own home, the album mostly feels like an ensemble record with a cohesive band who knows how to compliment each other by playing off each other's cues. There are however some surprising sounds on this album for Ortega, notably the presence of more electric guitar and the use of oboe, both of which are simply beautiful. The songs juxtapose between longer hymns and meditative songs and then short songs that only dwell in a single moment of Christ’s life. The album is powerfully suited for both corporate worship and personal devotion, the standout tracks being "Blessed Be Our God", "Prepare the Way O Zion", "In My Father's Kingdom", “Ah Holy Jesus How Have You Offended”, and "My Song is Love Unknown".

Something we might take for granted on a Fernando Ortega record is his own playing and singing. His musicianship is so consistently good that it is too easy to pass it by, but make no mistake: his skill as a composer and performer is superb. He nearly always manages to pull off the incredible feat of being both virtuosic and simple in his piano playing. Ortega is not a piano pounder like Elton John, Billy Joel, or Ben Folds. You can almost feel him going gently on the keys, playing with subtlety and wisdom, giving each song what it requires. Again, this means we might miss the genius of his playing, but listen close and you'll hear the nuance.

But it is almost as if Fernando wants us to forget he is there in order that we may instead be drawn into reflecting more deeply on the life and work of Christ. In this way The Crucifixion of Jesus succeeds as a triumph of beauty and meaning, one that will hopefully make a big impact on people’s lives.

Review by Chris Marchand

LTTM Rating 4.5 Out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
In My Father's Kingdom
Ah Holy Jesus How Have You Offended
My Song is Love Unknown

This review is from Chris Marchand who runs his Christian Music Blog titled PostConsumer Reports . We thank him for helping us with this amazing review. Please check out his site.