The Wound-Dresser Explained

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]}

References

• The John Adams Earbox, Nonesuch Records, NY 1999

External links

• Full text of Walt Whitman's "The Wound-Dresser"
• In the BBC Discovering Music: Listening Library

Notes and References

1. The poem "The Wound-Dresser" is part of Whitman's collection Drum-Taps, which in turn is part of Leaves of Grass. It is not to be confused with the book, Whitman, Walt, The Wound Dresser: Letters written to his mother from the hospitals in Washington during the Civil War, edited by Richard M. Bucke (1898).
2. Kim. Heidi Kathleen. 2013-01-01. Whitman's Identity at War: Contexts and Reception of John Adams' The Wound-Dresser. Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. en. 30. 2. 78–92. 10.13008/2153-3695.2056. 0737-0679. free.
3. Web site: John Adams - the Wound-Dresser .
4. Encyclopedia: Sylvan, Sanford . Richard Wigmore . 30 June 2020 . 15 May 2009 . Grove Music Online . 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.2079367. 9781561592630 .
5. Web site: Fearful Symmetries / The Wound Dresser . www.nonesuch.com . Nonesuch Records . 2 March 2018 .
6. Web site: Passion & Pain: Adams, Haydn & Schubert . www.prestoclassical.co.uk . Presto Classical . 2 March 2018 .
7. Web site: Adams: Shaker Loops / Wound Dresser / Short Ride in a Fast Machine . www.naxos.com . Naxos Records . 2 March 2018 .
8. Web site: John Adams: The Wound Dresser . BBC . 5 June 2014 . 11 November 2021.
9. CD: BBCLJ30012; https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/adams-tromba-lontana-violin-concerto-the-wound-dresser
10. "Music for a Time of War" – The Oregon Symphony under Carlos Kalmar play Ives, Adams, Britten, and Vaughan Williams on a Pentatone Release ... Highly Recommended!. https://web.archive.org/web/20120828164420/http://berkshirereview.net/2012/04/07/music-for-a-time-of-war-oregon-symphony-carlos-kalmar-ives-adams-britten-vaughan-williams/. dead. August 28, 2012. Michael. Miller. April 7, 2012. November 12, 2012. The Berkshire Review.
11. Web site: Music for a Time of War. November 13, 2012. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation.