Orpheus Choir to premier tribute piece to Māori Batallion
A tribute to the 28th Māori Battalion will have its world premiere in Wellington this month.
E Kiwi E will be sung in te reo Māori by Orpheus Choir Wellington supported by a kapa haka group and a chorus of more than 100 tamariki drawn from schools around Wellington.
Composed by Takerei Komene and inspired by older waiata with the same title, the text of E Kiwi E expresses heartfelt concern for soldiers in the Māori Battalion stationed far from home.
“The soldiers of the Māori Battalion were not just soldiers – they were sons, fathers, husbands and brothers sent to fight in a war for a king and a country that did not love them,” Komene says.
This new telling of a unique Kiwi story was commissioned by Orpheus Choir Wellington and will be presented as part of Anzac Day commemorations.
“The prospect of everyone coming together to complete the work is incredibly exciting,” Komene says.
The work will opens the choir's The Armed Man Concert, which features Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace, which explores the human experience in times of conflict.
Brent Stewart, Orpheus Music Director and Conductor, says the themes of loss, resilience, and the enduring desire for reconciliation resonate deeply today.
“Though deeply immersive, palpable and stirring music, this concert does not shy away from expressing the fragility of peace and the horrifying human cost of war,” Stewart says.
Writers whose words appear in the work include Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Sankichi Toge, who survived the Hiroshima bombing in 1945.
Orpheus will be supported by the Wellington Brass Band and mezzo soprano Maaike Christie-Beekman for this performance.
Komene on their composition
Are there any particular moments or sections within the composition that hold special meaning for you? Towards the middle of the piece, the full forces of choir, organ and brass are pared right back to just singers and a guitar – an image of whānau at home awaiting the safe return of their son from lands afar.
What do you want the audience to experience?
Hope – hope for the prospect that Aotearoa (and the world) will not see the likes of this war again.
What are you most looking forward to at the world premiere of your composition?
Seeing everything coming together. The collaborative process is an extremely important one, and one that I value dearly, and with all of the forces involved in the piece, the prospect of everyone coming together to complete the work is incredibly exciting. Plus – I've never written for brass before...
What was the creative process behind crafting this composition?
Having sung at many ANZAC services, the Ode to Remembrance from Binyon's For the Fallen resonated in mind at the beginning of the process. The image of the "going down of the sun" struck me as incredibly melancholic, and the music basically sprouted from that point.
I knew that I wanted to describe two of the many sides of war. My music represents the starkness of war, using moments of uncomfortable silence and near constant dissonance to create a picture of chaos and desolation. In contrast, Tuini Ngāwai's E Kiwi e speaks of longing and hope in the simplest, most devastating way. Together, the music speaks of sights that we should hope never to see again.
– The Armed Man Concert, April 20, Michael Fowler Centre. Tickets: $20 to $60, ticketmaster. Orpheus will also be performing highlights from the concert at the Anzac Day memorial at Te Papa on April 25. More info: orpheuschoir.org.nz.