Pakeha Groups Present Maori Music

Te Ao Hou, September 1964, Page 53

Pakeha Groups Present Maori Music Dr John Reid, a distinguished Auckland man of letters, recently said that it is a truly significant advance when Maori motifs begin to become an accepted part of the environment which is shared alike by Maori and Pakeha. Certainly I must always confess to a feeling of pleasure when Pakeha musical groups feature Maori music in their repertoires and treat it as Maori music—as being worth something intrinsically, not just as a gimmick to achieve variety. Thus the St Kilda Bank of Dunedin and the Salvation Army Wellington Citadel Band are to be commended for their inclusion of Maori music in the discs reviewed below. ‘Rhapsodies for Brass’: St Kilda Band Kiwi LA-5 10in. 33⅓ LP One side of this record features Llewelyn Jones' famous ‘Maori Rhapsody’ and the other Dean Goffin's ‘Rhapsody in Brass’. I will comment only on the former. ‘Maori Rhapsody’ has quite a long history. It was first performed in 1939 as a symphonic work and later adapted for brass and military band. It was been played overseas by bands of the calibre of the ABC Military Bank (Sydney 1948) and the Band of the Welsh Guards (London 1951). The Royal Marine Band featured it prominently during the Royal visit of 1953–54. However, it was not published as a brass band score until as late as 1957. The cover states that ‘Maori Rhapsody’ makes use of five ‘traditional’ Maori melodies —‘Hokihoki’, ‘E Pari Ra’, ‘Manawa Arawa’, ‘Eta Maori’ and ‘Pokarekare’. Well, I don't know about ‘traditional’. This word is often used very loosely when talking about Maori music. To me, ‘E Pari Ra’ without words is simply ‘Blue Eyes Waltz’. ‘Maori Rhapsody’, with all pretensions about symphonic work, etc., stripped away, amounts merely to a collection of Maori tunes linked together by a string of cadenzas and short bridging passages which modulate in and out of the minor key. Only at the end does it come to life with a skilful interweaving of the haka ‘Ka mate, ka mate’ into the musical fabric. My overall assessment is that the work is pleasant but pedestrian listening which lacks the inspiration which one would hope for in a work of this type. Nevertheless, in itself it is a recognition that Maori music has something to offer. It is a blending of ingredients from our two cultures and as such it must command respect. ‘Maoriland Melodies’ Salvation Army Wellington Citadel Band Kiwi M2K-1 7in. 45 r.p.m. EP ‘Maoriland Melodies’ has on side one ‘Maori Melodies’ and on the reverse ‘Maoriland’. This latter is what bandsmen and others refer to as a descriptive piece and has no specifically Maori theme. The Maori melodies on side one are unobtrusively linked together and played in tempo appropriate to their theme. The tunes are ‘Hoia ra’, ‘Hoki Hoki’, ‘Manu Rere’, ‘Matangi’, ‘E Pari Ra’, ‘Pokarekare’ and ‘Hari Mai’. The band has captured the Maori verve with which the tunes are normally sung, and without the necessity of having to justify the whole thing as a rhapsody or anything else, the melodies come through without encumbrance. Readers should enjoy this recording of Maori melodies dressed in a garb slightly different from that which we are accustomed. ? The 28th Maori Battalion Association has formed a sub-committee to investigate the possibility of establishing a Maori training unit within the country's defence system. This follows discussion on the matter at the recent opening of the Battalion's war memorial community centre at Palmerston North. Members of the committee are Brigadier G. Dittmer, Lt.-Col. Awatere (Auckland), Lt.-Col. J. C. Henare (North Auckland), and the president of the Association, Mr H. K. Ngata of Gisborne. ? Miss Ans Westra, the photographer who takes most of the pictures published in ‘Te Ao Hou’ has had one of her colour photographs chosen to be included in an international collection of 300 pictures which is being exhibited at the New York World Fair. Her photograph is of a little Maori girl and a little Pakeha girl playing together. The exhibition, called ‘The World and its People’, will remain at the World Fair until the end of 1965. After this it will be shown in countries all over the world.