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This work was written at the request of conductor Elise Bradley for her highly regarded choir Key Cygnetures at Westlake Girls High School (Auckland).

It was intended for a ‘mid-winter Christmas’ concert which was to also feature Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. I therefore felt happy to turn to Christmas texts with some of the more traditional Christmas references (snow etc).

The first text is from the fifteenth century and is a general text mentioning Mary, the manger, the wise men, and the gifts they brought, and ends with call to delight in the Christ child. The second text, by G.K. Chesterton contains images of snow and night, and ends with the line that gives the work its overall title. The third text is a variant of the carol ‘I saw three ships come sailing in’ and may refer either to the medieval myth that Joseph and Mary travelled to England, or obliquely to purported journeys of the relics of the wise men. The fourth text is a lullaby by nineteenth century poet John Addington Symonds. Again the wise men and their gifts are mentioned along with the shepherds. The final text is another anonymous one, and is simply a brief and energetic welcome to ’heaven’s King’.

• Hamilton: A Child Comes Forth; computer-set 

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• The Treble Voice Choral Music of David Hamilton Vol. 2 

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Background

The Moriori were the indigenous people (tchakat henu) of Rekohu, now known as the Chatham Islands, in modern times part of New Zealand. The Moriori migrated there from New Zealand some time between 1400 and 1600. They share common ancestry with the Maori, and are Polynesians, but their own distinct culture developed over the period of 400 years of isolation. Their first contact with the outside world was in 1791, when a British ship stumbled upon the islands. They lived in relative peace with both Europeans and Maori until 1835 when the islands were invaded by Taranaki Maori tribes. A fifth of the population of Moriori were slaughtered, and the rest taken into slavery. Over the next 30 years of slavery the population sharply declined, and eventually the last full-blooded Moriori, Tommy Soloman, died in 1933.

Before contact with the outside world, the Moriori had adapted to their harsh environment, and eked out a subsistence living based mainly around fish, seals, and birds. A unique feature of their culture was a taboo against the killing of another human. According to their ancient traditions, a chief named Nunuku stopped warring parties from fighting to the death, as he realized this was counter-productive to survival of the small population on the islands. men still fought, but only until blood was drawn – then they stopped.

When the Taranaki tribes commandeered a British ship to the Chathams in 1835, the Moriori at first welcomed them. The Maori initially ignored them, as they explored the islands. Concerned by a possible theta, the Moriori held a large gathering, discussing whether or not they should fight the Maori (who they greatly outnumbered). The older chiefs prevailed, citing Nunuku’s law of non-violence. The Maori, on the other hand, did not hold back: they massacred 300 Moriori (men, women and children) and held a large cannibal feast in accordance with their tikanga, or fighting customs. The treatment of the survivors was horrendous. The Moriori continued to be treated poorly, being regarded by most Europeans as an inferior race, low in intellect, lazy, and degenerate; of course the Europeans were seeing only the sad remnants of an oppressed people. In addition to these in justices, the land courts of the 1870s awarded the vast majority of the land to the Maori, and not to the Moriori.

It was not until late in the 20th century that the true story of the Moriori became better known, thanks largely to Michael King’s book Moriori: A People Rediscovered (1989). The marae on the Chatham Islands has been restored, and in 2005, relatives of Moriori submitted a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal.

A Survivor from Rekohu was inspired by the story of the Moriori and commissioned by Alexa Still, for flute, piccolo and Maori flute. It is based around the life of a Moriori named Koche who witnessed the 1835 massacre, survived years of slavery under the Maori chief Matioro, and made many attempts to escape from captivity.

Eventually he did escape, permanently, on a ship to the USA where he told his story to an American lawyer. His whereabouts after this are unknown. The music recalls three main passages from Koche’s life:

his childhood on Rekohu in the days before the invasion
the massacre of 1835
slavery and escape

These are framed by four little melodies (variations on a theme) played on different Maori instruments, acting as meditations on the events. They are each labelled ‘Kopi Grove’, after the sacred place on Rekohu where chiefs would meet and ceremonies were held.

• Ritchie, A.: A Survivor from Rekohu; computer-set 

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• Ritchie, A.: A Survivor from Rekohu; computer-set 

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• Anthony Ritchie: A Survivor from Rekohu 

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• Anthony Ritchie: Octopus  Year: 2011 

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• Buchanan: An Ocean Between Us; computer set 

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• Buchanan: An Ocean Between Us; computer-set 

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In Northland, New Zealand, in the Port Albert Public Cemetery, among the graves of three generations of this pioneering forbears, is a plaque commemorating the death of a New Zealand soldier in the deserts of Libya in 1941. His name is also on the Remembrance Gate at the nearby Port Albert Reserve, one of the seven local men who lost their lives in the Second World War. This unknown story, one of many such stories, is symbolised in a poignant photograph – Memorial Arch, North Kaipara/Dargaville area by Robin Morrison that appears in his 1994 photographic essay A Journey.

This music charts a physical and emotional journey across the generations. It tells of a journey to New Zealand by sea in 1862 on the sailing ship Matilda Wattenbach. It tells of the land to which they came – Oruawharo and its bounty that gave then succour. It tells of a place that became home and of love of country. And then of another journey by sea from which there was no return.

This is the third of Northland Panels, a series of four works for string orchestra based on photographs from A Journey. The others in the series are Angel at Ahipara, Night Journey to Pawarenga and Christ at Whangape.

Christopher Blake
May 2006

• Blake: Anthem on the Kaipara; computer-set 

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• Christopher Blake: Angel at Ahipara  Year: 2012 

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Autumn Arabesque was commissioned by Carolyn Mills following on from the Folk Song Suite I arranged for violin and harp for her. The title does actually reflect the work in that much of the material is in the nature of an Arabesque when one thinks of the two Debussy Arabesques for piano; while the nature of the work has a bitter sweet nostalgic quality which I often associate with Autumn.

• Young, K: Autumn Arabesque; computer-set 

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• Rimmer: Autumnal Alleluias; computer-set 

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A solemn hymn of praise to St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and Durham Cathedral, for SATB choir, organ or piano and untuned percussion.

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• Karlo Margetic: Bioluminescence - hardcopy score 

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• Karlo Margetic: Bioluminescence - hire set 

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• 2006 NZSO/Todd Corporation Young Composer Awards  Year: 2006 

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‘blessed unrest’, was one of six short pieces commissioned by the New Zealand Trio as “attention-grabbing”, programme opening pieces. They wanted something that would start a concert “with all guns blazing”; a piece that ought to be “high-impact, dynamic and edgy”. It took a long time until I found something that I thought satisfied this demand, as I didn’t want to write an obviously motoric pulse-based piece. I wanted to create a sense of pent-up energy and its release in bursts. Many approaches were tried and rejected and while this was going on I came across the quote that gave the piece its title. I don’t think my dissatisfaction with earlier versions of the piece was either ‘queer’ or ‘divine’ and I dislike the lofty tone, but parts of Martha Graham’s statement nevertheless resonated with me: “There is vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not yours to determine how good it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is ever pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”

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• James Gardner: blessed unrest; audio 

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• Rimmer: Breathalyzer; computer-set 

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• Rimmer: Breathalyzer; computer-set 

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