Taku Toa

Te Ao Hou, September 1968, Page 61

Taku Toa Kiwi SLC-50 12 in. 33 1/3 LP Mono-Stereo The Wellington Anglican Maori Club was founded in the 1940s by Canon Hohepa Taepa who once again is its leader after a long period of absence from Wellington. At the time of its founding, its main activity was to assist the work of the church amongst the Maori people. In the late 1950s, under the leadership of the Rev. Kingi Ihaka, it cast a wider net and extended its activities beyond the field of purely religious welfare. In so doing it has compiled an impressive record of success in Maori cultural competition. This record is the Rev. Ihaka's ‘swan song’ with the club, since shortly after it was made he moved to Auckland to take up the post of Maori Missioner. Kingi is of course a towering figure in the contemporary Maori cultural scene who will need no introduction to regular readers of Te Ao Hou. A number of his compositions are heard on the recording. Also of interest, however, are several works by Kingi's father, the late Eru Ihaka of Te Kao, a not inconsiderable composer whose works will not be so familiar although they are equally deserving of merit. Side 1 of the record starts with what the cover blurb describes as ‘an extraordinarily beautiful arrangement by the Rev. K. M. Ihaka of the deeply-felt love song Pokare-kare’. I can assure you that this description is not hyperbole. This must stand out as one of the best-ever recordings of an item which has regrettably almost descended to the hackneyed class. Ihaka's arrangement is beautifully sung, with feeling. Unfortunately the soloist tends towards breathlessness in places, and does not hold her notes at the end of lines long enough, but the choral singing is excellent. The following action song on side 1, ‘Toro Mai’ could almost be said to be the