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In the deepness of the night before Christmas, children dream of exciting and wondrous things: so do adults, but they are also fraught with arrangements and planning for the big day. a call for simplicity and remembering the loving and gifting nature of Christmas. This piece is performed “in the round” i.e. the adult choir encircles the audience and the children stand up the central aisle. The adult choir gradually moves around the audience and sings at times in smaller groupings. The audience does not know where the sound will come from next. The children need to be able to hold 3 simple parts. Finger cymbals are used to indicate stars and nocturnal animals create an interesting opening. It is depicts a New Zealand Christmas experience.

• Russell: A Wellington Christmas or Christmas Eve Reflections; computer set 

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• Russell: A Wellington Christmas or Christmas Eve Reflections; computer set 

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SSS SSS AAAA TTT BBB

The text for ‘Christ the King’ is taken from two poems by James K. Baxter: ‘Song to the Father’ and ‘Song to the Lord God on a Spring Morning’. The title of the piece comes from the feast day of October 25th in the church calendar, and the plainsong for this day is used in the opening and ending of the work. ‘Christ the King’ was written for the Sydney Chamber Choir.

• Maclean: Christ the King; facsimile 

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• Maclean: Christ the King; facsimile 

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• Clare Maclean: Christ the King 

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• Clare Maclean: Complete Choral Music 

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• Ker: Close-up of a Daisy; facsimile 

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• Dorothy Ker: snake, echo & beetles 

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• New Zealand Choral Music Vol. 1  Year: 1994 

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• The Big Sing Finale 2002  Year: 2002 

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For any available melody instrument such as flute, oboe, violin, recorder, keyboard. The melody part can be sung by group or soloist. The four accompanying parts can be sung (SSAA) or played on tuned metallic percussion instruments (chime bars, glock vibraphone...) or both. Accompanying parts range from easyto tricky and can be omitted with others composed by the performers added. Triangles or finger cymbals required at end.

A lullaby for SSAA choir with soprano soloist and melody instrument. This song uses melodic and rhythmic patterns from a Javanese Gamelan piece, also about golden rain.

• Camm: Golden Rain Baby; computer-set 

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• Camm: Golden Rain Baby; computer-set 

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• Caskie: Images in Song; computer-set 

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• Holmes: Invocation; computer set 

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• Holmes: Invocation  Year: 2000 

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• Williams, N.: Jack-in-the-Boat; facsimile 

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• Williams, N.: Jack-in-the-Boat; facsimile 

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A karanga is a call which begins the Maori ceremony or welcome, the powhiri. Traditionally the karanga is performed by the women. It is an indication that the visitors (the ‘manuhiri’) should begin to move forward on the marae.

“The start of he karanga indicates to a visitor that they are free to approach their hosts across the marae atua (sacred space directly in front of the meeting house). The call also clears a spiritual path for the ancestros of both the visitor and host and meet and partake in the ceremonial uniqueness of the powhiri.” (from www.newzealand.com)

The karanga also includes acknowledgment of ancestors and may allow the visitors to identify where they have come from.

Although my work picks up on some of these traditional karanga elements, it is not intended to be a representation of an actual karanga or powhiri. The text is drawn from several sources, and includes some typical traditional karanga calls. In the music, the female voices represent the hosts and the male voices represent the visitors, although at times (for purely musical reasons) this distinction is blurred.

The women’s text is founded on the call of “Haere mai!” (“Welcome!”), and the men’s text of “Karanga mai!” (“Call!”). THese two phrases recur throughout the work, often underpinning other texts. Although the two groups often call back and forth to each other, at times the two groups also perform together, super-imposing their respective texts. Towards the end of the work the two groups come together and the work ends with all singers presenting the same text.

Musically, the work begins by using rhythmic ideas which suggest traditional chant. No actual traditional chants are used however. A feature of a karanga is the unbroken line of sound which passes from singer to singer. Much of the remainder of the work uses a rich palette of tonal harmonies often moving slowly from chord to chord. The piece includes a part for conch shell player, an instrument also associated with calling to visitors and welcoming them.

Karanga was written for The Graduate Choir and their conductor Terence Maskell

David Hamilton

• Hamilton: Karanga; computer set 

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• Hamilton: Karanga; computer set  Year: 2005 

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• A Sound Came from Heaven  Year: 2007 

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• Buchanan: More Witchy-Poo Songs; computer set 

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• Buchanan: More Witchy-poo Songs; facsimile 

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• Hinds: Nativity; facsimile 

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