MAORI CHURCH MUSIC.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 26, Issue 11, 1 November 1936, Page 4

MAORI CHURCH MUSIC.

Stressing the desirability of taking action to preserve the beauty and picturesque nature of Maori church music, members of the Waiapu Diocesan Synod, sitting m Napier, have adopted a resolution, "that a commission should be set up to consider the development of the musical side of the Maori church ser-

vices, and that an endeavour should be made to capture the idioms of Maori songs and to incorporate them into the Maori church music." The commission is to consist of the Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt. Eev. F. A. Bennett, the Rev. T. A. Moresby, Mus., Bas., and the Rev. K. Harawira. During a discussion on the question, Mr Harawira outlined what was being done through the Maori Choir contests to improve their musical standard. All the pieces rendered at these musical festivals was church music and Maori sacred songs. Nothing of a trashy nature was allowed. But he wanted the movement to go further. Though the Maoris were outstandingly a musicloving people, their church services were on the musical side limited to hymns. An effort was now being made m Poverty Bay to put portions of the communion service to music, and he hoped that it would soon be possible to have a eucharist service as fully choral as was possible m England.