String Quartet No 2

String Quartet No. 2 for 2 Violins, Viola and Cello in 4 Movements (Total Duration: 26 minutes) Music by James Nathaniel Holland. Composer website at: http: //lacoronadelossantos.net/jamesnathanielholland.html YouTube presentation video at: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe7H9NXcTYg This intense 21st century string quartet transports the listener into four very different vignettes. The opening with begins with a driving rhythms, almost "rock-like", representing a bloody duel. The second movement contrasts the first movement with a sweet, blissful melody accompanied with strumming pizzicatos. The third is broad and cinematic, a journey through the memories of a drowning sheik enticed by a mermaid. The final a joyful fugue based on African popular music. Movement 1 Allegro Agitato "Pyrrhic Fight Dance" Movement 2 Tranquil "Blissful Awakening" Movement 3 Moderato "Memories of a Drowning Sheik".Movement 4 Presto "African Fugue" An interesting addition to the professional concert of American new classical music.