Records reviewed by Alan Armstrong New Zealand ‘Maori’ Concert Party Pye PNZL 2700 12 in. 33⅓ LP Sponsored jointly by the Auckland Public Relations Office and the New Zealand Travel and Holiday Association, this party made a highly successful tour of New Zealand several years ago and then visited Australia, where their performances were most enthusiastically received by Australian audiences. To form the group of twenty-five entertainers, over 100 young Maoris were auditioned. The party finally selected represented some of the finest Maori talent in this country, from almost every major tribe. The leader was Mr Henare Toka, well-known as a carver and exponent of Maoritanga. I well recall seeing this polished group on stage and writing at the time in ‘Te Ao Hou’: ‘ “Maori” should set a standard to be aimed at by all future concert parties’. What a pity it could not have continued to perform after the task for which it had been selected had finished.

High Standard It is fortunate that Pye has preserved ‘Maori’ on a recording which does nothing to tarnish the group's deservedly high reputation. The items recorded range from stick games, through action songs, waiata, chant, haka taparahi and peruperu. Despite the disadvantages inherent in recording an actual stage performance, the presentation is first-class. The choral items such as ‘Patupaiarehe’ and the Hinemoa Love Song are gems of precision and harmony. Here is a record which, despite one or two uneven patches, mainly in ‘E Pari Ra’, displays ample evidence of careful rehearsal, a feeling for what is being done and an obvious determination to provide the audience with the best. If any reader wishes to recommend to a local or overseas pakeha friend a record which combines variety with competent performance, then I commend this disc to their attention. Mention must also be made of the technical quality of the record. The reproduction is clear and true and free from the audience's coughs and snuffling which often detract from tapings of stage performances. My only cavil is the fact that some of the space on the back of the record could well have been devoted to a more detailed description of the items presented. Guide Rangi and the Rotorua Arawa Concert Party Stebbing SLP 1006 12 in. 33⅓ LP The cover states that this is a record of ‘a typical Maori concert’. I would not quarrel with this description after seeing some of the concerts which have been doing the rounds of late, but one can only wish it were not true. This record is, I fear, a very patchy offering. Its faults are ragged harmony, faltering starts and a lack of cohesion amonst the group. The haka taparahis in particular at times degenerate into shouted jumbles. I have a great admiration for Guide Rangi and the Arawa party, which is one of the few groups giving regular public performances of Maori items. Their concerts are happy affairs and do much to create a favourable image with the thousands of visitors, many of them from overseas, who attend their performances. However I would not like an overseas listener to form an impression of a ‘typical Maori concert’ from this disc. If ever there was a case of familiarity breeding contempt, it is demonstrated in the approach to the audience illustrated in this recording.

‘Live’ Recordings Risky As I mentioned in the first review, it is a risky undertaking to record actual performances of Maori items as so much of the success of a stage performance depends on visual things, but the previous recording reviewed gives proof of what can be done. Technically there is little wrong with this record although it would appear from the audience noise during some of the items that it was taped during an influenza epidemic! The disc contains plenty of variety and the poi item sounds well. An improvement would be cover notes on individual items. It is true that there is a commentary of sorts but statements such as a bald ‘the haka in the early days was performed by the men to develop their muscles’ may suffice for tourists, but …! To those who have seen the Arawa Concert Party in action, the record will perhaps have a sentimental value as a nostalgic reminder of the gay informality of the weekly concerts in the Regent Theatre, Rotorua. I can say no more!

One thousand records of Maori traditional songs, action songs and hakas will be on sale in Malaya and New Zealand soon after a tape recorded by the concert party of the 1st Battalion, New Zealand Regiment, has been processed in New Zealand. There are 35 men and 10 women in the concert party, which is coached by Padre H. Vercoe, of Opotiki.