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Work
Add to wishlist- for mezzo-soprano, piano and clarinet
- By:
- Duration:
- 16' 00"
- Contents:
- 21 very short poems (pao) - translations of Maori poems
Samples
 | Score (3464k) | Pages 1-8 of full score of 'Pao' | © Gillian Whitehead |
| Score (40k) | Page 1 of "Pikeri", from 'Pao' | © Gillian Whitehead |
Availability
- This work has 6 scores and 1 Media on Demand
Media on Demand
Programme Note
‘Pao’ is the name given by Maori to two-lined epigrammatic songs which comment on a wide range of subjects such as love, war, politics or religion; often topical, often improvised. Most of the songs set here were collected in 1864 from Maori prisoners captured during the the land wars in the Waikato area south of Auckland. The couplets are not connected in any way except for the central group, for unaccompanied voice, concerning Pikeri, a character famous at the time for his escapades evading the police; in this instance, enforced separation during a love affair is charted.
The English translations of these pao are used with the kind permission of the late Margaret Orbell, and come from her Maori Poetry, an introductory anthology (Heinemann, 1978).
Pao was commissioned by the Northumberland-based Syrinx Trio, with financial assistance from Northern Arts; the first performance was given by Syrinx in Newcastle in 1981.
- Text Note:
- Text from Maori poems translated by Margaret Orbell
- Commissioned:
- Commissioned by the Syrinx Trio with assistance from Northern Arts (UK)
- Difficulty:
- Advanced
- Influences:
Performance History
| 14 Dec 1995 |
Performed by Gina Sanders (soprano) Pikeri is a movement from Pao |
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