25 Jul 2024
Matariki He Kāhui Reo premiered at the World Choir Games in Tāmaki Makaurau on 15 July 2024. The 10-movement piece tells the story of the constellation, based on the interpretation of Māori astronomer Professor Rangi Mātāmua. It was New Zealand’s unique artistic offering to the event and was supported by Creative New Zealand.
Plenary Director Robert Wiremu (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) is one of the three-person creative team behind the piece and conducted the massed choirs for the premiere.
Robert admits to nerves as the premiere approached, knowing the audience included some of the leading choral conductors in the world who were in Tāmaki Makaurau for the World Choir Games. The venue, Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, meant that the choirs could be placed around the space to reflect the meaning and relationships of the stars. This placement created a further challenge.
“It was partway through the last movement; I was on stage facing the audience […] it’s not often the conductor gets to see the audience. I could see their faces, their eyes growing bigger and bigger and bigger, and their mouths falling open, then tears. And that made me get a frog in my throat. I thought, I’ve got to stop looking at them because I’ve got a job to do, so I had to look away. […] I was forced into understanding it from their point of view for a moment which is pretty amazing, and the buzz was palpable,” Robert says.
Robert, John Rosser, and Ataahua Papa began forming the work in 2018 with the intention of creating a piece to showcase New Zealand’s unique choral voice for the World Symposium on Choral Music in Auckland in 2020.
The bones of the piece were in place by the time the symposium was cancelled because of Covid-19: an ensemble of eight choirs to represent the Matariki star and the constellation itself, with each choir representing one of the other stars.
Once the World Choir Games were confirmed to be in New Zealand in 2024, the project was reinvigorated. Lyrics for each of the stars were written by Rangi Mātāmua, Ataahua Papa, and Tuirina Wehi.
Composers were assigned a pair of stars. Tuirina Wehi composed for Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-rangi; Chris Artley composed for Tupuānuku and Tupuārangi; and Anthony Ritchie composed for Waipunarangi and Ururangi. Two newer composers, Rosa Elliott and Reuben Rameka composed for Waitī and Waitā, respectively.
The next decisions were to match the composers to choirs that were familiar with the composers’ work and style.
Melissa Absolum (Ngāti Mutunga) sings with two of the eight choirs involved, The Graduate Choir, NZ and Voices New Zealand.
Melissa’s rehearsal for the piece reflects the complexity of the project. She was able to practice together with The Graduate Choir, NZ and join with six other choirs for a group rehearsal a month ago. As part of Voices New Zealand, our only professional and national choir, she practised alone.
Co-producer Ataahua Papa gave each choir support with singing in te reo Māori. For Voices New Zealand, this meant going through the score with conductor Karen Grylls on a Zoom session that was sent to choir members around the country.
Melissa has sung choral pieces in te reo Māori before, but this experience was special.
“To be able to sing a choral concert all in te reo Māori, all in te ao Māori, the world of Māori, [...] and hear every other choir singing in te reo Māori – that was impressive,” Melissa says.
One of the many special moments in the evening came when Professor Rangi Mātāmua, whose knowledge informed the work, closed the premiere with karakia.
“[He] acknowledged the choirs for being part of this magic moment. He was delighted to be able to share his vision that he’s had for New Zealand, to be able to sing about the stars, and really feel it. And every piece reflected the stars, it was just incredible.”
Melissa reflects on the performance as one that brought her identity and her interests together.
“Being Māori and just being there, I felt so proud that we could do this. Because choral singing is a passion of mine, I absolutely love it. But to be able to fuse my two worlds together just excites me. In the Māori world, we have our harmonies, we have our kapa haka, we have our songs. We don’t necessarily need the choral world but to be able to put my two passions together and to be able to sing that is pretty special,” Melissa says.
Robert Wiremu was struck by impact and relevance of the whakataukī Professor Mātāmua quoted, “He toa whakairo, he mana tangata! Where there is artistic excellence, there is human dignity!”
Robert is keen for others to experience Matariki He Kāhui Reo. He says the story is accessible because so many cultures around the world have their own stories about what we know as Matariki.
“Constellations belong to no-one; constellations belong to everyone. We know that the Japanese acknowledge Subaru as an important constellation, the Greeks acknowledge Pleiades […] stories are stories, characters are characters, we understand these things at a human level, irrelevant of where they come from […] the piece has absolutely global appeal.”
Matariki He Kāhui Reo was performed to two capacity audiences at the World Choir Games, but Robert is aware it may not be seen here again.
“The curse of new music in New Zealand is that it is often performed once and never again, that’s a burden we have here. I think this piece is important [...] I don’t think New Zealand would have been ready for it ten years ago. This is the time now, when relations between the Treaty partners of this country are at some of the healthiest points they’ve ever been, and so I think for that reason it needs to have a greater life here.”
The World Choir Games, which is considered the Olympics of choral singing, took place in Tāmaki Makaurau 10 - 20 July with support from New Zealand Major Events, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and the New Zealand Choral Federation. It is one of the biggest single art form events to be presented in New Zealand with over 11,000 singers from 42 nations participating.
Matariki He Kāhui Reo, premiere at World Choir Games, Tāmaki, 15 July 2024
10 movement cantata
Matariki (well-being, hope, gathering) – opening movement, composed by David Hamilton, lyrics by Rangi Matamua, sung by all choirs, conducted by Robert Wiremu.
Pōhutukawa (reflection), Ensemble, composition, and lyrics by Tuirina Wehi.
Tupuānuku (food from the earth), composition by Chris Artley, lyrics by Tuirina Wehi, sung by Choralation, conducted by Fiona Wilson.
Tupuārangi (food from above), composition by Chris Artley, lyrics by Tuirina Wehi, sung by The Graduate Choir, NZ conducted by Terence Maskell.
Waitī (fresh water and food it brings), composition by Rosa Elliott, lyrics by Ataahua Papa, sung by Voices NZ, conducted by Karen Grylls.
Waitā (the ocean and the food it brings), composition by Ruben Rameka, lyrics by Ataahua Papa, sung by Auckland Chamber Choir, conducted by Jonathan Palmer.
Waipunarangi (rain), composition by Anthony Ritchie, lyrics by Ataahua Papa, sung by Viva Voce, conducted by John Rosser.
Ururangi (wind), composition by Anthony Ritchie, lyrics by Ataahua Papa, sung by New Zealand Youth Choir, conducted by David Squire.
Hiwa-i-te rangi (new beginnings, aspirations), composition and lyrics by Tuirina Wehi, sung by Fortissimo, conducted by Jacob Moore.
Matariki - closing movement, composition by David Hamilton, lyrics by Rangi Matamua, sung by all choirs, conducted by Robert Wiremu.
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