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Album Review
Advent CD reflects
on liturgical readings
By Rebecca Bostic, The Catholic Sun
December 6, 2007
During his three-decade music career, Jaime Cortez has written songs about many aspects of Catholicism. However, it was not until recently that he wrote a collection of songs for the season of Advent.
“Adviento” is the fruit of his reflections on the joy of the liturgical season preceding Christmas. It is a bilingual album and his sixth album released through Oregon Catholic Press, a Catholic publishing company.
“I couldn’t help to notice how upbeat and hopeful the Advent Scriptures were, yet there isn’t a lot of music that shows that,” said Cortez, the music director at St. Bridget Parish in Mesa since 1989. “I wanted to provide a different approach to this season by providing music that was a bit more upbeat and to ‘give permission’ to congregations to rejoice in an upbeat way.”
Although Cortez has focused previous albums on specific liturgical seasons, “Adviento” is unique in the unabashedly joyful approach the musician brings to the Advent season. A bilingual speaker and performer himself, Cortez’s ministry has been dedicated to promoting high-quality bilingual music.
“I want to provide vibrant, upbeat music in Spanish for our Spanish music ministers around the country,” Cortez said. “There are many Spanish-speaking musicians that are improving their skills in music ministry, but there is not a lot of exciting, youth-oriented material for them.”
Although Cortez enjoys the creative insight of music ministers who use contemporary Christian music, he is concerned that “it is not always the best music for liturgy,” he said.
“I wanted to provide an exciting collection of music that was strongly based on Scripture and especially readings that appeared in our Lectionary,” Cortez said of his latest album.
“Adviento” not only mixes the languages of English and Spanish, but also showcases a mixture of sounds and musical styles throughout the album. Some songs have a Latin vibe to them while others are simply beautifully written with a softer beat behind the melody. Joy emanates from every track.
“I want to be sure that when you get this CD you feel moved to listen to it more than twice,” Cortez said. “This is music that can give you joy in life and at the same time bring Scripture to your heart.”
Cortez’s experience helps him balance different languages and musical styles throughout “Adviento.” It is an album that is filled with different styles and songs, but remains a cohesive collection.
Cortez recorded “Adviento” with Andy Andino, another Catholic musician who heads up the bilingual music group Who Do You Say That I Am.
“Andy and I share many musical ideas and I felt that he could add tremendous quality to the recording, which he certainly did,” Cortez said. Andino produced the album after recording with Cortez in Cleveland.
“The experience of giving your music to another person to arrange and record is not an easy one,” Cortez admitted. “You need to be true to your vision but collaboration is also an exercise in trust… I had to keep myself in check to be sure I wasn’t stifling the gifts of my producer, but still keeping the integrity of the message I wanted to put across.”
Although Cortez does not have a favorite song on “Adviento,” a few of the ones he especially enjoys illustrate the diversity of the album.
“Nothing is Impossible” — a song that focuses on Mary — and “Ven, O Ven Emanuel/Come Emmanuel” — which showcases Latin beats — are his current favorites.
While most of Cortez’s music is Scripture-based, with “Adviento” he hopes to really emphasize the faith in the passages leading up to the celebration of Christmas in the Church.
“With ‘Adviento,’ I hope people will see the joy and the hope of the Scriptures of the season and I hope they can feel a new level of happiness,” Cortez said. “If you sing one of these songs, you are singing Scripture. I hope this music will stay in people’s hearts. Don’t be afraid to dance! God is coming! Rejoice!”
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