Haere Mai Ra

About

The Maori people were the earliest settlers in New Zealand, arriving in the country about a thousand years ago. These pieces belong to the more recent 'concert party' tradition of Maori music, rather than the traditional pre-European musical forms and styles. Before European contact, the music of the Maori people consisted largely of monophonic chants with a very limited range of pitches. The early missionaries brought with them their own musical styles which were soon adopted by the Maori people. Many well-known Maori songs are really a mix of European and early Maori forms.

Haere Mai Ra is a song of greeting. The arrangement was made in early 2001. It does not try to reflect an essentially 'Maori' style, and in fact probably take the piece even further into the European tradition of choral music. It is included in the album Four NZ Maori Songs.