ECHOES OF THE ISLANDS

Te Ao Hou, 1973, Page 59

ECHOES OF THE ISLANDS Kiwi Mono-Stereo SLC-55 12 in. LP 33 ⅓ r.p.m. This recording features the combined choirs of St. John's College and Loreto Girls' High School, Ovalau, Fiji—two of the best known educational boarding institutions in Fiji which provide schooling not only for young Fijians but also for many young people from other Pacific islands. In many ways, because of the performers and the type of songs they sing, this record will invite comparison with its New Zealand equivalent, reviewed earlier, the record of the combined choirs of Hato Paora and St. Joseph's Maori Girls' Colleges. I would not like to say which is the better. They are both very good records. ‘Echoes of the Islands’ features a collection of makes (dances) and of Fijian, Rotuman, Tongan, Maori and calypso melodies. The New Zealand listener will find particular interest in the choir's fine rendering of three Maori numbers, ‘Pokare-kare’ ‘E Rere Taku Poi’ and ‘Po Atarau’. ‘Pokarekare’ is sung in five different languages—Maori, English, Tongan, Rotu-man and Fijian. Each language gives its own characteristic inflection to the verse. All in all this is a sensitive and attractive version of the song. ‘E Rere Taku Poi’ is sung in Maori and the words come through clearly and. for the most part accurately. A girl starts each verse off with a charming ‘tahi, lua, tolu, wha’. The record cover notes that although the poi is not native to Fiji, the girls at Loreto were fascinated by the Maori art form and soon mastered the twirling of both the short and long poi. The song is given the droning, sonorous Fijian harmonies and there is added interest with the variations in tempo of the various verses. I doubt if any Maori group has recorded a better version than this one by these Fijian youngsters. Last of the Maori items is ‘Po Atarau’, sung first in English and then in Fijian with tremendous poignancy. There is a good selection on this disc and listeners will enjoy the variety of the Fijian items. ‘Wai ni bu ni Ovalau’ is most catchy. ‘Mauluulu’ with its fast flowing unusual rhythm is sure to catch listeners' fancies. Another item, ‘Na Vanua Ni Vei-senikau’ is a calypso tune first made popular by Harry Belafonte. This version is sung in Fijian to the accompaniment of a Hawaiian guitar and castanets! Another highlight is a most unusual meke, ‘Tua i Sirine’. The choirs sing the words in three languages, Rotuman, Fijian and Tongan. The only musical accompaniment is the beating of a Tongan drum made from a four gallon kerosene tin with a dried calf skin stretched across each end. There are a number of other interesting and attractive Fijian items. My favourite is a catchy little Fijian love song, ‘Sa Moce Lei Sisi’ (‘Farewell Cecilia’). If you are not accustomed to Fijian music, this record provides a first rate introduction. If you are so accustomed, the disc could please you even more. There are excellent cover notes to help you appreciate the items. I cannot help but end on a note of personal reminiscence. Ovalau is a small volcanic island about an hour or so launch run (if memory serves me correctly) off the coast of Fiji's principal island. Viti Levu. Levuka, its only town, was the first capital of modern Fiji. Now it slumbers peacefully at the base of the cone looking from a distance vaguely like Papeete or, at any rate something out of Robert Louis Stevenson. Boarding the bus at Levuka one morning some years ago to travel to the end and back of what was then almost the only road, I met the school teacher from a village at the end of the road. After only a few minutes conversation he invited me to stay the weekend at the village. It was typical Fijian hospitality, and what a weekend! It coincided with a village festival and no doubt memory plays a trick or two but some of the tunes on this record sound just like the ones I heard many years ago in two days

of almost non-stop feasting, singing and dancing. An echo of the islands indeed!