James Nathaniel Holland

Symphony No. 2 (In Praise to Haitian Gods) James Nathaniel Holland

FULL SCORE only, Individual instrument parts sold separately. Haitian voodoo rhythms, and gods Damballa Wedo, Papa Legba, Ezulie, Baron Zamdi the Gede are brought to the orchestral concert stage in this second symphony of American composer James Nathaniel Holland, who served for a while in Haiti in the US Peace Corps in the 1990s. The symphony for large orchestra is divided into three movements. It begins with a rousing invocation which melts into a sensitive section, sympathetic of the human condition and of the Republic of the Caribbean island of Haiti. The second movement, Danse ak Zanj yo, actually three sections, is very a very African sounding fugue that changes into a contraposition of the quiet, mysterious Minwet and the European French Minuet, and ends with an almost "church" joyous, dance of complex percussion, call and response. The last movement, Nou Loa la, incorporates multimedia of the beauty of spoken Kreyol language: stating that we, ourselves, are the gods expressed in the Haitian folk dances. And ends with an energetic Haitian carnival section. Great, varied and different, showpiece for any symphony orchestral concert with overtones of jazz and Afro Carib music. Instrumentation: picc/fl 1.2., fl/altofl. 3.4., ob 1.2., pic cl./clBb 1, clBb 2.3.4., bcl., ssax, asax, tsax, bsax, bsn 1.2., cbsn, hrns 1.2.3.4., tpt 1.2.3., trom. 1.2., btrm, tba, timp, perc (bdrm, slapstick (or whip), maracas, metal guiro, agogo bells, calabasa, crash cyms, tri., bongos, congos, celeste., marimba) harp, strings. YouTube Presentation: https: //youtu.be/ON24g0ZJFQw