‘Aotearoa Welcomes You’

Viking VP 74 12 inch. 33⅓ LP.

It is good to see youth groups making recordings. This record is by the Motuiti Maori Youth Club, a fifty-strong Ngati Raukawa party under the leadership of Teira Hemara. Two-thirds of the members are teenagers and obviously from this record, they enjoy performing their items mightily.

There is considerable variety on the disc. Unfortunately, it starts badly for me with a jazzed-up version of ‘Au e Ihu’ accompanied by guitar. Fortunately the remainder of the items are more conveniently—and competently—performed. This however is another of those discs, periodically deprecated by your reviewer, which advertises itself as ‘actually recorded at a Maori concert’. Thus there is the usual chorus of coughs and snuffles punctuating most items, and performers doing more yip-yipping than actual words in the haka. ‘Ringa Pakia’ is particularly bad, with frequent pauses for audience laughter. Haka taparahi are a message of the soul—an expression of the corporate voice of a warrior people. Any attempt to make them into burlesques for the sake of audience belly laughs is to be deplored.

Despite the tendency for the microphones to pick up individual voices as performers move about, the quality of this recording is better than most ‘live’ performances. It is performed with zest and should prove enjoyable to the tourist for whom it is obviously principally intended.

‘Kia Mataara!’

Kiwi LC–10 12 inch. 33⅓ LP.

Following the precedent set by the 2nd Battalion of the New Zealand Regiment, another group of Maori soldiers in Malaya have now recorded for Kiwi. This is the Concert Party of the 1st Battalion of the same Regiment. This party has toured all over the Federation winning friends for New Zealand and now, thanks to this recording, audiences at home can appreciate the precision and quality of the group.

During New Zealand Day celebrations at the home of the New Zealand High Commissioner the party performed before local and diplomatic dignitaries. Other performances have

been to school audiences and in connection with fund raising activities by Malayan charities. On one memorable occasion, the Merdeka (Freedom) Day celebrations in 1962, the party performed before an enthusiastic audience of six thousand in South Malaya. Unlike, its all-male predecessor, the First Battalion's party includes over twenty lady members—wives of the soldiers. Maori and Pakeha make up the Party's membership under the leadership of the unit padre, the Rev. Whakahuihui Vercoe of Opotiki.

‘Attacks’ its Items

To use a military term, the group attacks its items, and the clarity of diction is particularly commendable for all items. There is some excellent singing in the action and group songs. Unfortunately the two hymns featured are the weakest items. They lack depth and substance. Despite a little uncertainty at the beginning of ‘Ringa Pakia’ the hakas are crisp and polished with the words coming through clearly and precisely—something which is often absent from recorded haka performances. The purist may object to the inclusion of two nursery rhymes—‘Hori had a Little Lamb’ and ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’—but the performance was recorded at Radio Malaya and such items provide the variety necessary to maintain the interest of Asian audiences. Furthermore the rhymes are performed with typical Maori vigour and robust humour and one is an amusing spoof of the action song.

This enjoyable record should prove popular both here and overseas.

‘Hi-Five Tamoure—
Introducing the Maori Hi-Five’

HMV 7EGM 6074 7 inch 45 EP.

The Maori Hi-Fives have a polished style and a considerable overseas reputation. With this disc however they stand accused of mutilation and exploitation of the music of their people. I am not a purist but this is the most tasteless travesty of Maori music which I have heard for a long while. I leave it to the reader's imagination to imagine ‘Po Atarau’ to Tamoure rhythm! Another gem is Putiputi Kanehana (billed on the cover as ‘Putti Putti’) with the lyrics in Maori and English. Sample of the English—‘Pretty pretty creamy sugar pie, I wanna make love to you’. With its muddy-coloured cover and its grossly mis-spelt Maori

titles this is a disc which one can only hope is not accepted by overseas visitors as typical of the indigenous music of this country.

TE AROHANUI CONCERT PARTY SETS NEW STANDARD

After its resounding success in Hawaii and the United States, the controversial Te Arohanui Maori Concert Party has returned to New Zealand, played a brief season and disbanded. Here in Wellington it received such a poor notice in the press that the New Zealand Maori Council lodged a spirited protest with one of the papers concerned. It played to houses which were by no means full. Some of my friends (Maori) said that this was not ‘a Maori show’. What is ‘a Maori show’? One where performers saunter on to the stage chewing gum whilst they wait for the guitar to tune up? All too often this is the sort of thing which is foisted on to the paying customers in the guise of Maori entertainment.

Polished and Scintillating

Let me state unequivocally that in the humble opinion of this critic, Te Arohanui Concert Party set me a standard of excellence for all future concert parties and this was achieved without sacrificing one iota of the true and authentic Maori flavour of the show. This was a polished and scintillating display which made one proud of this Maori culture which is the heritage of all New Zealanders—be they white or brown.

From the viewpoint of stage presentation, the production had the slickness and unflagging energy which one usually associates with experienced overseas review companies. The sets were simple and the lighting effective. Exits and entrances were meticulously planned and carefully executed and as a result, except for intermission there was not one break from start to finish. The performers were sure of what was required of them and moved with confidence and grace. Their poise, posture and facial expressions were a pleasure to see.

Very Much a Team Effort

The items themselves were well chosen and the music steered almost entirely clear of American pop tunes. Albert Whaanga's leadership was firm and inspiring yet there were no real stars for this seemed very much a team effort. I am not an admirer of some of the typically Mormon settings which were used for the set-piece choral numbers yet the disciplined singing and rich harmonies were a joy to listen to. In some of the informal songs there was an occasional fleeting use of massed voices singing in unison without harmony. This gave quite an ethereal quality to some of the music. ‘Hine e hine’ was particularly effective.

On the debit side there was a rather ragged performance of ‘Ruaumoko’ and the men's first peruperu appeared a little uncertain. In contrast the remaining peruperu displayed some beautiful footwork and the taparahis combined ferocity with precision. Particularly grating in the first item on the programme was a narration by an American actress. Her voice fell harshly on the Kiwi ear and though she made a gallant attempt to master Maori pronunciation, this feature was one of the less happy aspects of the evening. For the other items, a little commentary by a Maori or an illustrative programme would, I imagine, have helped the non-Maori viewer.

The tragedy now is that by the time this article appears, this fine group will have gone their separate ways. This is a group which should be seen by every Maori and Pakeha. Certainly anyone who takes part in Maori concert performances could not fail to learn a great deal by seeing this party. Let us hope that the organisers' intention to reform at a later date is realised.

Te Arohanui Concert Party

Zodiac ZLP 1018. 33⅓ r.p.m. 12 inch LP.

For those who did not have the opportunity to see the Te Arohanui party, and for those more fortunate who want a souvenir of a memorable evening, Zodiac have fortunately produced this 12in. LP in both stereo and mono. It is no discredit to the record to say however that it does not do full justice to the party, as it was recorded before they left New Zealand. Nevertheless the recording quality is excellent and the stereo medium well exploited. The items are briefly but effectively explained on the cover and some seldom recorded items are included, as well as such old favourites as Ka Ru and Pakikini. Indeed the record well illustrates the group's versatility and particularly their fine choral work. Some of the arrangements may not be everyone's cup of tea but the choir does full justice to them and they are a change from the usual run of harmouie singing.

Anyone who has seen or heard Te Arohanui Concert Party will not doubt that they were most worthy ambassadors of our country overseas.