| Pounamu | |||
| Composer | Helen Fisher | Category | Choral music |
| Instrumentation | Choir (SSAATB) & solo flute | ISBN | 1-9583679-5-7 |
| Format | Hardback score & flute part | Price | NZ$25.00 (+GST) |
| Parts | Choral parts available separately | Recording | Kiwi Pacific CD SLD-108 |
| Program note | Pounamu means 'greenstone', a type of jade prized by the Maori people for use in making jewellery and tools. The word also evokes the sea, and this choral piece is inpired by the sparkling summer waters of Tasman Bay, Nelson.
The resonance of the Maori vowel sounds is explored, and mid-way through the piece a waiata (chant) emerges, based on a Tainui whakatauki (proverb). Pounamu was performed at the 1990 Asian Music Festival in Japan by the Sendai Hoso Choir. When this choir visited New Zealand in 1991, the flute part was performed on a shakuhachi (Japanese flute). It has also been performed using the koauau (traditional Maori flute). |
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| Reviews |
"Among the choirs, the resonance and beauty of the vowels of the Maori language in Pounamu … made an unforgettable impression on me."
Yomiuri (Tokyo) "Pounamu is an attractive short piece that manages to synthesise convincingly aspects of our Western and Maori musical traditions." Martin Lodge, Canzona 1997 |
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