The Wound Dresser – John Adams

The second homo I reviewed was entitled The suffer Dresser. This is a composition for chamber orchestra and bari pure tone singer. hind end Adams open this region off of The Wound Dresser, a song by Walt Whitman. The poem was write in in 1865 and was based on Whitmans experiences working as a nurse in the American Civil War. jakes Adams is most often recognized as a minimalist, and well known for his plot of grounds medical student Atomic, and Short Ride in a Fast Car. You can hear examples of minimal art all through away the piece.What I found interesting was that when Adams was working on this piece, his light was dying of Alzheimers disease. This gave Adams the ability to refer with Whitmans poem on a much deeper level. Not just by having an awareness of dying, but by care for people who are dying. Lyrically, this piece starting line out with a man reminiscing of affectionateness for wounded soldiers in the hospital. It was his job do change the dressings on the wounded soldiers. What I noticed most was how Adams reflected the mood and tone of the lyrics by using odd combinations of instruments, and fantastic harmonic combinations.The bugle style car horn, with a synthesizer, and some extreme ranges on the initial violin produce a mind of misery or weakness that couples with the baritone horns lyrics perfectly. The first violins solo was beautiful but stock-still projected a somehow painful, brokenhearted feel. When the strings all began to play, it was slow The piece starts out with just violins, and the first violin acting a solo in an usually high register. The double basses begin playing legato and slowly attenuation in and out. If pain and sorrow could be written through music, then John Adams did it in this piece.I perceive them eventually playing pizzicato, with strings still sweeping in and out. That moment was beautiful. There was a trumpet solo, which somehow sounded distant. Upon reflection I established that it had the same effect that Adams used in his piece Distant Trumpet written in 1986. The lyrics were shockingly disturbing. Not something that I was expecting to hear. They were many points in the baritones melody that it sounded atonal. It was dark, and miserable from every end. Lyrics exchangeable come, sweet death implying that death would be complete joy for him.I couldnt kinda pick a structure out of the piece, but at the end, I hear a returning theme in the first violin. All in all, this piece was beautifully miserable. Like always, I soundly enjoyed my time at the CPO. I heard the Chorus for the first time, I as well heard a synthesizer be used for the first time. I apprehend to hear different versions of Ave Maria and Ode blessedness as well. This experience was impacting and inspiring. It made me swear to strive to a new level in my musicianship that I have never been to before.