Music

This version of Hinetekakara was arranged after a bomb attack near the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on 9 September 2004 and premiered there shortly after that. After the attack, not all the players were prepared to continue the trip to Indonesia, so I rearranged the work so the bassoon part could be played by 1 flute player.

About the work

Hinetekakara is an ancestress of Aroha Yates-Smith, whose own composition is embedded in mine. The interpretation of her chants is as follows:

1. The singer invokes the spirit of her ancestress beside the rippling waters of Lake Rotorua.
2. Tuhohomatakaka conducts the tapu-raising ceremony over Ihenga.
3. Hinetekakara, participating in the ceremony, meets Ihenga and they fall in love.
4. Hinetekakara’s lullaby welcoming her new-born son, Tuariki.
5. Ihenga discovers the murdered body of Hinetekakara at the lake.
6. The singer farewells her ancestress.

There are 3 other versions of this work.

Hinetekakara for kaikaranga, taonga pūoro and bassoon

Hinetekakara for kaikaranga, taonga pūoro and ensemble

Hinetekakara for kaikaranga, taonga pūoro, flute, alto flute, and bassoon

About Hinetekakara

Many years ago, Hinetekakara lived with her husband (or father, according to some traditions) Ihenga on the edge of Lake Rotorua. Returning from a hunting trip, Ihenga discovered the body of his beloved Hinetekakara by the lake, murdered, and sang his mournful lament. The settlement at Ohinemutu is named for her (meaning ‘the end of the woman’).

Instrumentation

The taonga pūoro played in this piece are, in order:

• pūtatara — conch shell trumpet
• pūtōrino matai — wooden pūtorino
• pūmotomoto — shakuhachi-like wooden flute
• pūpūharakeke — flax snail
• pūkaea — war trumpet, and
• nguru rākau maire — wooden nose flute.

Score

Borrow or buy the score from SOUNZ.

Hinetekakara — SOUNZ