Work

Programme Note

Nga ha o nehera, which translates from the Maori language as ‘a breath from the past’, was commissioned by and written for Ben Hoadley, with financial assistance from the Becroft Trust. Ben Hoadley gave the piece its first performance at the International Double Reed Convention in Melbourne in 2004. Nga ha o nehera is a five-movement suite, written after a taonga puoro wananga at Ohinemutu on the shores of Lake Rotorua. The first movement is ‘Nga ha o nehera’, meaning a breath from the past, the second, ‘puna wera’, describes the continual welling up of hot water from a spring at the edge of the lake, and the third, ‘Mokoia’, suggests the soundscape of Mokoia Island, which, as well as a major historical site, is also a bird sanctuary. The fourth movement He purakau, recounts a folk-story – not a specific tale, but suggesting the elements of all strong stories, and the last movement, ‘Ohinemutu’, locates the piece in place, and suggests something of the story of Hinetekakara, the ancestress of the Te Arawa people, whose untimely death gave the place its name.

Commissioned:

For Ben Hoadley by the David and Genevieve Becroft Foundation (NZ)

• Ben Hoadley (Performer)

Difficulty:

Advanced

Influences:

• Landscape - NZ
• Maori - culture

Performance History

	19 Jun 2007	Performed by Ben Hoadley (bassoon) at Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber on 19 June 2007. This concert was a collaboration between The Edge and Chamber Music New Zealand in celebration of Matariki. Two movements only
		Tuhonohono
	21 Jun 2007	Performed by Ben Hoadley (bassoon) at Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Wellington on 21 June 2007. This concert was a collabortion between The Edge and Chamber Music New Zealand in celebration of Matariki. Two movements only
		Tuhonohono
	14 May 2010	Performed by member of the SMP Ensemble at Adam Concert Room, University of Victoria, in Wellington
	25 Sep 2011	Performed by Ben Hoadley (bassoon) at Kerr Street Artspace in Devonport
		Ben Hoadley (Performer)
	21 Oct 2011	Performed by Ben Hoadley (bassoon) at the Gallagher Concert Chamber in Hamilton
		Ben Hoadley (Performer)