As is often the case in the vocal compositions of distinguished American composer Gordon Getty (b. 1933), many of the pieces collected in The Little Match Girl are based on, or inspired by, poetry from the 19th and early 20th c. This SACD starts with “A prayer for my daughter” for chorus and orchestra, based on the poem by William Butler Yeats. “Poor Peter” for tenor, chorus and orchestra follows, Getty’s self-penned lyrics inspired by Poe and again Yeats. The titular, heart-breaking Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The little match girl” is put to music more or less word-for-word in a challenging setting for the orchestra and particularly the chorus. The disc concludes with “Joan and the bells”, Getty’s own narrative of the trial of Joan of Arc. Asher Fisch and Ulf Schirmer lead the Munich Radio Symphony and the Bavarian Radio Choir respectively. The recording’s vocal soloists include tenor Nikolai Schukoff (“Poor Peter”), soprano Melody Moore (“Joan and the Bells”) and baritone Lester Lynch (“Joan and the Bells”).