Full orchestra and chorus are summoned to “The Destruction of Sennacherib”, for this setting of the epic by George Gordon (Lord) Byron (1788-1824). It “begins with the Assyrian army stomping through you,” in the words of the composer. Getty marshals his trademark mastery of the individual instruments and sections of the orchestra, including harp and chimes, making advances on 20th-century chromatic modulations and anguished voicings. “But it’s an extremely beautiful poem,” he insists, “and the ending is reflective.”
The Destruction of Sennacherib
“Musically and dramatically, this is clearly a masterpiece, and should be performed regularly by American choruses.”
Lynn René Bayley
The Art Music Lounge, 2018
Painting: The Defeat of Sennacherib by Peter Paul Rubens