The Wound-Dresser | |
---|---|
by John Adams | |
Style | Postminimalism |
Commissioned by | Carillon Importers on behalf of Absolut Vodka, with assistance from the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra through a gift from Daniel and Constance Kunin |
Text | "The Wound-Dresser" (Walt Whitman, 1865) |
Composed | 1988 |
Duration | about 20 minutes |
Scoring | Chamber orchestra and baritone singer |
Premiere | |
Date | 24 February 1989 |
Location | St Paul, Minnesota |
Conductor | John Adams |
Performers | Sanford Sylvan (baritone) Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra |
The Wound-Dresser is a piece for chamber orchestra and baritone singer by composer John Adams. The piece is an elegiac setting of excerpts from American poet Walt Whitman's poem "The Wound-Dresser" (1865)[1] about his experience as a hospital volunteer during the American Civil War.[2]
It was written for baritone singer Sanford Sylvan, who premiered it on 24 February 1989 in St Paul, Minnesota, with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer.[3][4] It was subsequently recorded by the same forces for Nonesuch Records.[5] Interpreters who have performed and recorded it since have included Thomas Hampson,[6] Nathan Gunn,[7] Jeremy Huw Williams,[8] and Christopher Maltman.[9]
In 2011, the Oregon Symphony performed and recorded the composition for Music for a Time of War.[10][11]