Paul Corfield Godfrey, Plump Jack
Most composers would give their eyeteeth to be wealthy enough to get their music performed without the hassle of continually seeking commissions or funding. Even for composers who are multi-millionaires like Gordon Getty life may not be a bed of roses. Then again, to do Getty credit, while he has poured substantial sums of money into music, he has not used his benefactions to promote his own music at the expense of others. The number of recordings of his music is small, but we have enough on disc to be able to judge that his music — written in a conservative but not reactionary style — is fully worthy of the accolade of performance…. Getty regards [Plump Jack] as his best score, but I personally much prefer works such as Victorian Scenes…which shows a much greater sense of ability in Getty’s setting of words. Those, like myself, who admire Getty’s music, will want to hear Plump Jack, but despite the discovery of some intermittently beautiful passages they should be prepared for disappointment too. Those who do not know Getty should investigate the discs of orchestral and choral music first.
Barry Bassis, Plump Jack
Although it will never supplant Verdi’s Falstaff, Getty’s work has considerable appeal, especially the orchestral sections… While Getty incorporates some Renaissance music, most of the opera is more modern in tone and darker than the Verdi opera.
Henry Fogel, Plump Jack
Lynn René Bayley reviewed this recording of Plump Jack in Fanfare 36:1, and I would second virtually everything she said. Plump Jack as presented here in a concert version loses two of its scenes completely, and parts of others. My guess is that the purpose was to make it fit on a single disc. The loss of continuity is a bit frustrating. But the music is attractive, and very well written for the voice (Gordon Getty is a classic opera ‘nut,’ a collector of vocal recordings with considerable knowledge). The music may not stamp itself in the listener’s ear with a truly distinctive voice, but it is music that anyone who enjoys the more conservative trends in contemporary opera is likely to enjoy. Plump Jack is Getty’s treatment of Falstaff, and if it doesn’t measure up to Verdi’s, one would not expect it to. But it is boisterous, colorful, at times sweet and tender.
Colin Clarke, Plump Jack
The score of Plump Jack, which pays homage to Shakespeare (taking Henry IV, Parts One and Two as source material), took around 30 years to see the full light of day. This PentaTone release presents the trimmed-down concert version, in which (for example) the first scene is not included. Certain scenes seem rather tacked together in this format, and it would certainly be interesting to compare and contrast with the full version at some future point. There is a decidedly film music slant to the Overture…(Getty is quite open in his booklet notes about his debt to film music.) There is wit here too, almost as if Getty wishes to depict cartoon-style goings on… True, there are passages which seem to lose direction in the Overture, and not all of the opera is of a consistently high level of inspiration (there is a tendency to the episodic and not all of the melodic lines are particularly memorable), but this remains an impressive achievement.
Paul Shoemaker, Joan and the Bells
…a rising dramatic tension, a brilliant sonic resolution and a genuine emotional impact…Soprano Lisa Delan sings beautifully and with absorbing drama.