Lea Salonga sings "Via Dolorosa"

Lea Salonga

I've loved Lea Salonga's beautiful voice since I first heard it on the 10th anniversary DVD of Les Miserables, playing Eponine.

Here, she sings one of the most moving and powerful songs about the suffering of Jesus and the incomparable, astonishing love that sent him to the cross.

The song was originally sung by Sandi Patti, who also, of course, does an amazing job on it. Here are some facts about the song from Songfacts.com:

This retelling of the story of Christ's climb to Calvary was written by Billy Sprague and Niles Borop. Sandi Patti told CCM Magazine presents 100 Greatest Songs In Christian Music why as soon as she heard this, she wanted to record it.

Said the singer: "I think the challenge for a songwriter is always to find a new way to say the same story. When 'Via Dolorosa' came along my path, I was just blown away because it did just that. It told the story but in a new and fresh and incredibly artistic way."

Patti explained in the same interview why she recorded some of the song in Spanish. She explained: "Because of the words 'via dolorosa' being Latin and Spanish, we chose to do part of the song in Spanish. And that was always one of those little spur-of-the-moment decisions that proved to be a really powerful one as well."

"Via Dolorosa" means in Latin "The Way of Suffering." It is traditionally held to be the path that Jesus walked through Jerusalem on his way to his crucifixion.