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Fearful Symmetries / The Wound-Dresser
Classical · 1989 · 2 tracks

Fearful Symmetries / The Wound-Dresser

John Adams

A study in contrasts: one half is a motoric, urban joyride fueled by synthesizers; the other is a devastatingly intimate setting of Walt Whitman's war poetry.

October 20, 1989 · Elektra Nonesuch

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A stark juxtaposition of relentless mechanical energy and profound, hushed human empathy.

Tracklist · 2 Tracks
01
The Wound-Dresser
19:15
02
Fearful Symmetries
28:02
Moments Worth Listening For
The sudden, jarring entry of the synthesizers in Fearful Symmetries that transforms the orchestra into a giant, ticking machine.
The baritone's hushed, devastating delivery of the line 'many a soldier's kiss I leave' over a shimmering bed of strings.
The way the rhythmic gears of the orchestra lock into a relentless, big-band inspired groove halfway through the second track.

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