Monday’s event included a few spoken words of tribute from Thomas and guest star Plácido Domingo, but, for the most part, the emphasis was on music, including Getty’s own. Among other offerings, the concert included the first performance of “A Prayer for My Daughter,” Getty’s resourceful and often lovely choral setting of Yeats’ poem.

Getty’s compositions have never been noted for their daring or stylistic inventiveness; they are steeped in traditional forms and harmonies, and operate cautiously within those bounds. But his most appealing work - the 1998 cantata “Joan and the Bells” - boasts a wonderful level of fluency and imagination.

“A Prayer for My Daughter,” which packs Yeats’ expansive poem into a terse 11-minute span, is another of Getty’s alluring creations. From its turbulent opening depiction of a howling rainstorm through the poet’s more abstract musings and on to the final evocation of a marriage ceremony, Getty continually finds a musical vein to reflect the shifting character of each of the poem’s eight stanzas.

There are elegant touches of word painting along the way - particularly the big choral harmony in response to Yeats’ phrase “magnanimities of sound” - and an ingenious use of the orchestra. Ragnar Bohlin’s Symphony Chorus delivered the piece with energy and precision.

“A Prayer for My Daughter” was the last of Getty’s pieces on the program, following the slender charms of four Emily Dickinson settings delivered by soprano Lisa Delan and pianist Robin Sutherland, and three short orchestral movements from “Ancestor Suite.” It brought Getty onstage to receive a big, loving ovation from the audience.

January 7, 2014