COLOURS OF FUTUNA: Alistair Fraser and Riki Pirihi
Alistair Fraser and Riki Pirihi played Pōneke’s Futuna Chapel in May of this year and the cameras of SOUNZ Films were there to capture their performance. Be sure to set aside some time to catch this exceptional extended improvisation for ngā taongo pūoro and percussion from two of the best in this field.
Audio recorded by our SOUNZ Films partner RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
COLOURS OF FUTUNA: Alistair Fraser and Riki Pirihi - trailer
Stand by for SOUNZ Films coverage of a performance by improvisers and taonga pūoro exponents Riki Pirihi and Alistair Fraser from the light-filled environs of Futuna Chapel in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
With audio recorded by our SOUNZ Films partner RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
Lilburn Lecture 2014: Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth Kerr delivers the Lilburn Lecture 2024 from the Taiwhanga Kauhau auditorium of the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington. Drawing on decades of experience as a music critic, she asks whether the critic is an endangered species in this country.
With an introduction by friend and colleague Peter Walls and a vote of thanks by SOUNZ’s own Hannah Darroch, this talk delves into the history of music criticism in Aotearoa New Zealand and surveys the current situation in light of recent technological shifts.
The Lilburn Lecture, now in its 11th year, is presented by the Alexander Turnbull Library, the Lilburn Trust and the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust.
With audio recorded by our SOUNZ Films partner RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
The Lali
In this episode of ‘Instruments of the Moana’ we delve into the wooden slit drum family, which inhabits many realms amongst the Moana Pacific islands and oceans. Our journey spans the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, Niue, Tonga, and Fiji, where we meet esteemed knowledge holders who share the traditions, stories and practices that surround these instruments across the Moana.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The Stamping Tube
In this episode of ‘Instruments of the Moana’ we delve into the stamping tube, known as the ‘bass’ of the pan pacific soundscape. Hear the story of its origins as a cooking utensil and fishing apparatus as we trace the stamping tube’s unique evolution across the Moana.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
Pātē
What other instrument captures our attention as instantly as the pātē? Journey into the rhythmic heart of the Pacific to explore the vibrant world of this traditional wooden slit drum, and hear a variety of applications that you never knew about before.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The Pan Pipe
Though commonly linked in Western traditions to the god Pan, the pan pipe has unique iterations in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Tonga — versions that have rarely been shared beyond those countries’ shores. Join our host Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava as he journeys across the Moana Pacific to uncover the hidden stories of the pan pipe.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The Mouth flutes of Vanuatu
In this episode of ‘Instruments of the Moana’ we travel to colourful Vanuatu, which boasts more than ten mouth flutes and a culture of nose flute that’s already extinct. Learn about some of these unique flutes and their everyday functions and applications.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
JAKE BAXENDALE: Dim Brightness Reprise
We conclude our SOUNZ Films coverage of the premiere of Jake Baxendale’s ‘Waypeople’ with ‘Dim Brightness Reprise’. Jake writes that the piece is, “A coda to the concert, perhaps a good partner to Techniques. In the first stanza, it references the theme of the everlasting, sourceless Way: used, but not used up. This selflessness is to be emulated, for our own good as much as everyone else.”
‘Waypeople’ was commissioned by the 2023 Wellington Jazz Festival The 2024 instance of this fine institution runs from the 16th to the 20th of October, with special interest from an Aotearoa New Zealand music perspective in the 2024 commission of composer and saxophonist Louisa Williamson (‘The Chasm Where We Fall Into Each Other’) and ORO MĀIA, translations of poetry by Dr Maya Angelou spoken, sung and scored by Maisey Rika, Miriama McDowell, Mere Boynton, Erena Koopu, Tuakoi Ōhia and Maarire Brunning-Kouka.
Audio recorded by RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
JAKE BAXENDALE: Freedom / Looking Far
“This is actually two verses which I've pieced together [from Ursula Le Guin’s translation of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching]. I was challenged by Lao Tzu's notion that being incurious is preferable to being well travelled, but I'm warming to the idea. Chelsea, Callum and I all play around with the folksy quality I wrote into the piece, which leans the most on the sound of the American Songbook out of all the pieces here.”
So writes composer Jake Baxendale on his ‘Freedom / Looking Far’, today’s SOUNZ Film from the wider set ‘Waypeople’, a commission of the 2023 Wellington Jazz Festival.
Audio recorded by RNZ Concert .
Film funded by NZ On Air .
JAKE BAXENDALE: Against War
Things take a sombre turn in this segment of Jake Baxendale’s ‘Waypeople’, depicted in this SOUNZ Film at its premiere at the 2023 Wellington Jazz Festival. An introduction by Daniel Hayles (piano) does little to prepare the listener for the expressions of violence and chaos that follow.
Jake notes that, “anti war sentiment stretches a long, long way back. I've referenced the sound of the New Thing from the 1960s in New York, which responded, among other things, to the war in Vietnam. I was thinking about other, more contemporary conflicts when we played this piece.
Audio recorded by RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
JAKE BAXENDALE: Soul food
Johnny Lawrence (bass), Daniel Hayles (piano), Callum Passells (saxophone) and Chelsea Prastiti feature in Jake Baxendale’s ‘Soul Food’, the latest in our SOUNZ Films coverage of Jake’s Waypeople, a commission of the 2023 Wellington Jazz Festival Of the Ursula Le Guin translation of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching used in this piece Jake writes,
“This wonderful poem plays with yin and yang, and references music explicitly. Despite all the paradoxes, it's nourishing stuff: I tried to keep that feeling alive while playing around with the rhythm and form of the piece. It makes for a pretty fun workout…”
Audio recorded by RNZ Concert
Film funded by NZ On Air
