SONGS OF MAORI YOUTH Kiwi Stereo SLC 002; Mono LC-27; 12in. 33 1–3 LP

Te Ao Hou, June 1966, Page 52

SONGS OF MAORI YOUTH Kiwi Stereo SLC 002; Mono LC-27; 12in. 33 1–3 LP I thoroughly enjoyed this record. It features the combined choirs of St Joseph's Maori Girls' College and Hato Paora (St Paul's) College for Maori Boys. The cover notes say “… their performances will give hours of joy to all those who appreciate the musical gifts of the Maori people.” This, I found, was not an unduly effusive description. There are two versions of the record—one recorded in stereo and the other in monoaural. One does not need stereo to appreciate the excellence of the performance but stereo undoubtedly gives greater depth and richness. There is plenty of variety. The record features two songs of greeting, a haka, four action songs, a chant, two hymns, two love songs, the St Paul's school song, and concludes with four examples of sacred polyphony sung in Latin. A few comments on individual items are in order. The haka taparahi Mai Ara … is attacked in rather ragged fashion and yet from the sound viewpoint it is very good. The stereo in particular reproduces well the swish of the piupiu and the crack of hands on body. Kua Hanga is the Hato Paoro school song and was specially composed by one of the Brothers who teach there. I am not a great fan for piano accompaniment to Maori music. However, this does not in any way detract from some very pleasant part singing and a most delightful and catchy tune. The two love songs Te Marama and He Wawata are a little pedestrian in their tempo. There is a very nice duet in the middle of He Wawata. Whakatata and some of the other action songs are marred somewhat by jazzy accompaniments but the singing is good and the tempi brisk. The combined choirs' version of Huai is one of the best I have heard of this oft-abused little chant. It also makes one wish to hear the choirs singing more of this type of Maori music and less of action songs to tunes such as Never On Sunday. I spoke of this matter in a recent review of the St. Stephen's/Queen Victoria record and I would like to make a further plea that these schools—it is not an exaggeration to call them ‘cradles of Maori culture’—relegate items sung to the tunes of recent pop songs to the very bottom of their repertoires. There is little to say about the polyphonic items except to commend the high standard of the singing. One thought however … action songs are not usually appreciated by many of those who care for polyphony and vice versa, although I am not suggesting that either type of music is subordinate to the other in musical merit. However, I felt that only one plainsong items to illustrate the versatility of these choirs would have been sufficient for this record. The polyphony deserves a record on its own. Mention is made in the cover notes of the difficulties which were experienced in bringing together these two choirs, for the schools are separated by over a hundred miles. Only two rehearsals were possible before the recording was made. This makes the resultant record even more praiseworthy. Let us hope that at some future time another joint recording venture by these two schools will be possible.