Musical Opinion (London)

Gordon Getty has produced one of the most dramatic, exciting and tautly constructed tone poems it has been my pleasure to hear for a long time... More

Gordon Getty has produced one of the most dramatic, exciting and tautly constructed tone poems it has been my pleasure to hear for a long time. The forces are large as befits the subject and the listener is gathered up and swept into the turmoil of Joan's final trial and execution for which Getty emphasises her inner tension and the pride of her faith in her voices, his scoring for chorus particularly effective in the final pages when the Saints urge Joan's spirit to join them. Joan's soliloquy as she awaits her execution is dramatically and movingly sung by Lisa Delan, whom I would like to hear on the opera stage, while Vladimir Chernov provides a sinister Prosecutor. The Russian National Orchestra under Alexander Vedernikov are on good form and project Getty's virile score with enthusiasm. The recording quality is excellent. Less

International Record Review

Getty’s music is fluent and well orchestrated. It is, in fact, a skillfully written, very traditional kind of oratorio. [It] is beautifully sung by Lisa Delan... More

Getty’s music is fluent and well orchestrated. It is, in fact, a skillfully written, very traditional kind of oratorio. [It] is beautifully sung by Lisa Delan, and both the baritone, Vladimir Chernov, and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir also deserve the highest praise... Vedernikov is clearly a man to watch: he knows exactly how to pace the music and maintain the tension, and to draw every possible shade of colour from the orchestra, which is magnificently recorded.Less