Friday, January 19, 2007
Fernando Ortega
My friend sent me "Home," by Fernando Ortega, as an introduction to his music. I liked it well enough that I bought more of his CDs.
The more I listen to these the more I like them. His voice is gentle but strong, an interesting combination. The lyrics are personal, honest. Sometimes he rearranges an old hymn and makes it new.
The biggest surprise for me has been the recording quality. Great care has been taken in putting the music onto the CD. They've used excellent mics that let me hear the differences between the various cymbals used, and the drums. There's subtlety and richness in the sound itself that reinforces the beauty of the words.
In general, he has gone far beyond the usual stereotypes. His music doesn't fit any genre but his own, as he uses motifs of various kinds to go with the subject. I'm surprised such music could come out of our commercial system. He's like early Ken Medema in that I know there's a real person doing the music, not a committee guided by focus groups and last year's hits.
If you're looking for exceptionally good Christian music, I recommend these:
"Home"
"Meditations of the Heart" (instrumentals)
"Fernando Ortega"
"The Breaking of the Dawn"
"The Shadow of Your Wings"
The more I listen to these the more I like them. His voice is gentle but strong, an interesting combination. The lyrics are personal, honest. Sometimes he rearranges an old hymn and makes it new.
The biggest surprise for me has been the recording quality. Great care has been taken in putting the music onto the CD. They've used excellent mics that let me hear the differences between the various cymbals used, and the drums. There's subtlety and richness in the sound itself that reinforces the beauty of the words.
In general, he has gone far beyond the usual stereotypes. His music doesn't fit any genre but his own, as he uses motifs of various kinds to go with the subject. I'm surprised such music could come out of our commercial system. He's like early Ken Medema in that I know there's a real person doing the music, not a committee guided by focus groups and last year's hits.
If you're looking for exceptionally good Christian music, I recommend these:
"Home"
"Meditations of the Heart" (instrumentals)
"Fernando Ortega"
"The Breaking of the Dawn"
"The Shadow of Your Wings"
# posted by Larry @ 07:40 
