An Honoured Name

Te Ao Hou, March 1963, Page 54

An Honoured Name Phyllis Williams is no stranger to radio and concert audiences in this country but it is on her own East Coast amongst the people of Ngati Porou that she enjoys herself most. I well remember some years ago, attending a concert in the famous Uepohatu Hall at Whakarua Park, Ruatoria (where the great Ngarimu V.C. Hui was held). The generator had broken down and the hall was lit by pressure lamps. One of the stars of the show was Phyllis Williams—the only Pakeha in the concert party. Every time she stood to lead a song or dance there was a burst of spontaneous and warm applause from an almost entirely Maori audience who knew an expert performer of their own music when they saw one. Early in her singing career Phyllis Williams was ‘Kirimamae’ (Mrs Phyllis Williams). given the name of ‘Kirimamae’ after one of the greatest ancestresses of the Ngati Porou tribe. The descendants of this honoured figure did not bestow her name lightly on another. Mrs Williams is no singer with a superficial interest in Maori songs performing them from a desire to give a little character to her repertoire. For her, the study of the song and story of the Maori has been undertaken because of a deep love and abiding interest in the race from which the music stems. Performed by a Pakeha singer against the background of a string orchestra, yet with the timeless Maori flavour meticulously preserved, both the Kirimamae recordings are an expert fusion of two cultures and an intriguing blend of the old and the new. They should have a place in the collections of all who have a genuine regard for Maori music.