Abstract:
This choral view across forty years identifies respect for and collaboration with Māori composers and performers, as the search for a language that Lilburn first contemplated in 1946, continues. The parallel worlds of teh European and Māori musical traditions have begun to come together. What composers did not contemplate in the 1970s gradually became possible. Helen Fisher and Gillian Whitehead invited the worlds to embrace each other, in search of what it means to be a New Zealander, especially for our young people and our guardianship of the land, and young Māori composer Tuirina Wehi has continued this journey. Wehi’s Aio (2009), a young woman’s search for peace, and Waerenga-a-Hika (2010), a historic journey to find out about the siege at Waerenga-a-Hika are works that have been arranged by Robert Wiremu , who is playing a vital role in the continued relationship between choirs and the performance of Māori music. In Lilburn’s words, the journey “is not yet concluded”. Our search for language, tradition and sound continues. The important events that have marked our pioneering, colonial history have given us the opportunity to reflect on what it is to be a New Zealander through our choral collaborations, the thoughts of our poets and composers, our performers and our taonga pūoro artists.
