- Cantata in three movements for soloists, SATB chorus, and orchestra
- Piano reduction available
- Libretto by the composer, based on the legend of Joan of Arc
- Duration: 17 minutes
Roles: Joan (soprano), Cauchon (baritone), SATB chorus
Orchestration: piccolo, flutes, oboes, English horn, clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta, strings
Reviews
“Gordon Getty's cantata Joan and the Bells is a distinctive and musically appealing version of the Joan of Arc story, beginning with her trial for heresy and witchcraft, and building to a startling climax as she faces death at the stake...The second section, and eight-minute monologue for Joan...displays thematic unity and a consistent melodiousness. [Joan and the Bells] is dramatically assured, structurally sound, and likeble without being obvious...eminently recommendable.”
Joshua Rosenblum
Opera News, 2003
“...a rising dramatic tension, a brilliant sonic resolution and a genuine emotional impact...Soprano Lisa Delan sings beautifully and with absorbing drama.”
Paul Shoemaker
Music Web International, July 2003
Gallery
“Unless your heart is hardened against new music that doesn’t really do anything new, Joan and the Bells is a fully engaging cantata, with its shimmering orchestration and vocal lines that are actually singable.”
J.F. Weber
Fanfare, November-December 2003
“Getty’s music is fluent and well orchestrated”
Ivan Moody
International Record Review, September 2003