Work

Programme Note

Na te Aroha and Taku Hoa Aroha were two love songs commissioned for a play called Nga Puke (The Hills) by Dunedin playwright, John Broughton. This play was performed at the Depot Theatre, Wellington, during the International Festival of the Arts, March 1990.

Nga Puke is a love story between a Maori soldier of the 28th Maori Battalion, Waru Thompson, and a Pakeha nurse, Angie. The setting is both the rural landscape of Porangahau, Hawkes Bay, and then a military hospital in Crete during World War 2. The first song, Nga te Aroha is about Waru and Angie’s exchange of gifts (greenstone and a painting of Nga Puke). The second song, Taku Hoa Aroha, is Angie’s love song for Waru, as he lies wounded in a Crete hospital.

Text Note:

Text by composer

Commissioned:

Commissioned by Lisa Warrington for John Broughton's play 'Nga Puke', Depot Theatre, Wellington; 1990 International Festival of the Arts

Difficulty:

Beginner

Influences:

• History - NZ
• Love
• Maori - culture