The vocal works of San Francisco-based Gordon Getty have been the major part of his compositional ouevre as well as previous recordings. So it is a change of pace here to focus strictly on the instrumental music of this composer who proclaims himself “two-thirds 19th century.” He writes in an essentially conservative style while observing: ‘“there’s still a great deal to be said in C Major”…The opening overture is from probably his best-known work, his opera on Shakespeare’s fat and funny character Falstaff. It is filled with good humor, but ends with a baleful sound representing Prince Hal’s banishment of Falstaff. The eleven short sections of the Ancestor Suite are from a Getty ballet which was premiered in Moscow in 2009 and is based on the 1839 Poe short story The Fall of the House of Usher. Some of the movements sound perfectly tuneful and upbeat, while others have a subtle macabre edge to them as befits the stimulus for the ballet…The usual excellent hi-res surround quality provided by PentaTone makes it easy for those of us not heavily into vocal music to get a taste of the instrumental compositional style of Gordon Getty.

Gordon Getty’s Falstaff opera, Plump Jack, has been gestating since at least 1985, when one early scene was performed with the San Francisco Symphony. Getty says he hears movie music in his opera more than any specific classical influences, and indeed, like the best film composers, he has a sure instinct for using bold, primary colors to tell a story. Even when his vocal melodies occasionally meander, the orchestra provides imaginative texture and characterization. And one always hears Getty’s reverence for the beauty of Shakespeare’s language. He adapted his libretto with great fidelity from the two Henry IV plays and Henry V. In general, Getty handles his self-avowedly conservative musical language with skill and sophistication. One standout passage is Henry IV’s lament for what he foresees as the decline of the kingdom under his son Hal, a thoughtful, mournfully effective blend of vivid accompaniment with an expressive vocal line. Henry’s deathbed scene is also emotionally potent; Getty seems to be at his most eloquent with the aging king…. The dramatic high point of the opera occurs when Hal…rebuffs his old crony Falstaff at the inauguration. The painful string tremolos deliver the message with cutting certainty, and the new king ends his long denunciation…on repeated, ringing high Gs…. [It] is an impressive contrast to his beautiful Scene 2 aria, a sincere, triadic and touching appeal to his father for forgiveness…. The “Lament for Falstaff” in the last scene starts with a brief funeral march…compelling enough that it could easily have been extended. Hostess Quickly describes Falstaff’s death, amid harpsichord and clanging mallets, in a beautifully dramatized monologue… The score then turns rousing and military, leading to brass and full chorus. The materials for this end sequence are assembled and paced with a sure hand, and Getty has the courage to end the opera softly, rather than with a bang.

Plump Jack is Getty’s addition to the growing library of operas based on the figure of Falstaff; and to be treading where masters from Verdi to Vaughan Williams have gone before (with varying success) is bold…His music doesn’t dazzle with technical achievement or melodic richness. It can sound mechanical, congested, like Prokofiev without the tunes. But there’s an urgency, a sharpness of attack, and a determination in the writing that excites the ear. It’s not to be dismissed. When critics do dismiss it, one suspects an extra-musical agenda colouring their words.

[This] can really be considered an ensemble opera. Not coincidentally, then, the crowd scenes are some of the best things about Plump Jack, mounted with skill that no mere weekend composer could muster…. I’d characterize Getty’s music as post-Romantic. If you’re familiar with the vocal music of Schreker, Korngold (in his darker moods), and d’Albert, you have a general idea of the style. The music is chromatic, with wisps of melody rather than full-blown tunes. There’s little lyricism here; some of the text is more spoken than sung…. In sum, the story is a good one, and if Getty doesn’t tell it with unfailing musical justice, the music for the two Henrys, the crowd scenes, the writing for the orchestra are all worth experiencing.