Performance
Mere Boynton (soprano); Liam Wooding (pianist)
Introduced by Megan Tamati-Quennell (curator of modern and contemporary Māori and Indigenous art and Sharjah Biennial 16: to carry co-curator)
Performed by Māori musicians Mere Boynton (soprano) and Liam Wooding (pianist), Ihi: Awa Herea (Braided Rivers) is based on leading conceptual artist Michael Parekōwhai’s 2011 work He Kōrero Pūrākau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu: Story of a New Zealand river. The performance brings together Parekōwhai’s piano with the concept of a braided river, drawn from the work of featured composer Gillian Whitehead and the April Acts title, to carry new forms. The performance blends works by renowned Māori composers, both past and present, with the music of Brazilian, European and Australia composers, both historical and contemporary.
The following musical works are included in the programme, which will be introduced by Sharjah Biennial 16 co-curator Megan Tamati-Quennell:
Karakia – Gillian Whitehead (2 minutes)
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen – Robert Schumann (2 minutes)
Caro Mio Ben – Tammaso Giordiani (3 minutes)
Awa Herea – Gillian Whitehead (3 minutes)
L’isle joyeuse – Claude Debussy (6 minutes)
Te Kōkako – Hirini Melbourne (3 minutes)
Shingetsu – Lachlan Skipworth (4 minutes)
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Ária (Cantilena) – Heitor Villa-Lobos (7 minutes)
E Pari Rā – Paraire Tomoana (3 minutes)
Hine e Hine – Princess Te Rangi Pai (4 minutes)
Notes on musical works in Ihi: Awa Herea:
Gillian Whitehead, Ngāi Te Rangi
The words of the karakia (prayer) that begin this performance were written by the late Keri Kaa of Ngāti Porou descent for the song cycle Awa Herea for soprano and piano by Gillian Whitehead. The karakia is an invocation to our ancestors to return in spirit form and bless us with their presence and prestige.
Robert Schumann
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (From Foreign Lands and People) is the first piece in Robert Schumann’s piano suite Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Op. 15, composed in 1838. Conveying a sense of wonder and curiosity, this piano work depicts an imaginative journey through distant, unfamiliar lands. Its lively and gentle melody, coupled with flowing rhythms, evokes a child’s sense of exploration and the excitement of discovering new places.
Tommaso Giordani
Caro mio ben (My dear beloved) is a popular Italian art song composed by Tommaso Giordani in the eighteenth century. Featuring a heartfelt and expressive melody, the song expresses a deep sense of longing and devotion. The work remains a timeless classic in the world of vocal music.
Gillian Whitehead, Ngāi Te Rangi
Awa herea, rarangi herea, reo herea. Braided rivers, braided lines, braided voice. A sung metaphor about the strength of community, this music consciously weaves diverse communities together to make them one strong thread.
Claude Debussy
L’isle joyeuse (The island of pleasure) is a vibrant and evocative piano work inspired by Watteau’s painting L'embarquement pour Cythère. This 1904 piece reimagines a group’s journey to the island—considered the birthplace of Greek goddess Aphrodite—and their subsequent ecstatic unions of love upon arrival.
Hirini Melbourne, Ngāi Tuhoe
Te Kokako is a song about our intrinsic connection to nature and our responsibility as kaitiaki (guardians) to look after Tānemahuta (God of the Forest) and his descendants for the well-being of our mokopuna (grandchildren).
Lachlan Skipworth
Shingetsu is a contemporary piano solo written by Australian composer Lachlan Skipworth.
Heitor Villa - Lobos Bachianas
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Ária (Cantilena) is a famous aria that pays homage to Johann Sebastian Bach.
Paraire Tomoana, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Te Whatu-i-Āpiti
E Pari rā, which can be translated as ‘the tide surges’, is a 1918 waiata (song) based on the rangi or tune of a German waltz. It was written as a lament for Maku-i-te-Rangi Ellison, whose son Whakatomo Ellison died during World War I. The lyrics of the song express Maku’s pain and grief for the loss of her son. Maku-i-te-Rangi Ellison is Megan Tamati-Quennell’s great-great-grandmother.
Princess Rangi Te Pai, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti
Hine e Hine (c.1907) is a lullaby written by Fannie Rose Howie (1868–1916), who performed under the stage name of Princess Te Rangi Pai.
Credits:
Commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation and curated by Megan Tamati-Quennell
Soprano
Mere Boynton
Pianist
Liam Wooding
Musical Works
Karakia – Gillian Whitehead
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen – Robert Schumann
Caro Mio Ben – Tammaso Giordiani
Awa Herea – Gillian Whitehead
L’isle joyeuse – Claude Debussy
Te Kōkako – Hirini Melbourne
Shingetsu – Lachlan Skipworth
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Ária (Cantilena) – Heitor Villa-Lobos
E Pari Rā – Paraire Tomoana
Hine e Hine – Princess Te Rangi Pai