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Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Nā Mele Hawai'i: A Rediscovery of Hawaiian Vocal Music (2008)

Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Nā Mele Hawai'i: A Rediscovery of Hawaiian Vocal Music (2008)

BAND/ARTIST: Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble

  • Title: Nā Mele Hawai'i: A Rediscovery of Hawaiian Vocal Music
  • Year Of Release: 2008
  • Label: Rose Records
  • Genre: World, Classical
  • Quality: MP3 320 kbps; 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC
  • Total Time: 01:15:13
  • Total Size: 183; 323 MB
  • WebSite:
One may wonder in what sense this recording constitutes the promised "rediscovery" of Hawaiian vocal music when there are many recordings of Hawaiian song available, but rest assured, this is indeed something new and different, or old and different. The Rose Ensemble, based not in Hawaii but in St. Paul, MN, uncovers a range of music that will be unfamiliar to most listeners, probably even in Hawaii. The temporal range runs from the 1830s to about the 1910s, just before the Hawaiian craze made the music of the islands internationally popular. Many kinds of music appeared in Hawaii over this long span of time, and the disc samples several of them, not all of which are covered in the rather dense booklet. Sacred and secular music are mixed together but do not clash, and most of the pieces of both kinds are accompanied by a ukulele. All of the music is in the Hawaiian language, and English translations are provided. Generally the music falls into four categories, two of which are denoted by the name Himeni, or hymn. The first and earliest group consists of the first music written in Hawaiian by missionaries, in the early 1830s. The booklet aptly describes these as chilling in some respects. They did not have music of their own but were sung to existing New England hymn tunes, some of the proper Lowell Mason sort -- Mason's own Missionary Hymn is here, translated into Hawaiian (track 23). Others, however, are sung to music resembling the earlier New England style of William Billings and his contemporaries. Both patterns show up in the first hymns with music written in Hawaii, in the 1840s, and these seem to have, to a greater or lesser degree, the melodic traits now thought of as Hawaiian. There are also pieces called Mele Hula, or Hula Songs; these get short shrift in the booklet but appear to consist of traditional chants, accompanied by percussion. Finally there is the Mele Hawai'I, or Hawaiian song, influenced by American music but with many Hawaiian practitioners, most prominently Hawaii's last monarch, Queen Lili'uokalani. It was she who composed the heartbreaking song of farewell and loss that became the most familiar of all Hawaiian pieces, Aloha Oe, very nicely performed here by vocal soloists Heather Cogswell and Kim Sueoka. But the real virtue here is that this famed song is put into a very powerful context by other pieces that merge traditional themes, both Hawaiian and Christian, with sorrow over the American takeover of Hawaii. You will never hear Aloha Oe quite the same way again after hearing Ke Aloha o ka Haku (The Queen's Prayer, track 27), written by Lili'uokalani from her prison cell in 1895, and the earlier and later works all have stories to tell as well. Very highly recommended to anyone with the slightest interest in Hawaii, regional American music, or issues of colonialism in general

Tracklist:
1.01 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Ku'u Pua i Paoakalani (2:49)
1.02 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Namolokama Lā (2:54)
1.03 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - O Wākea Noho iā Papahānaumoku (1:11)
1.04 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - No Luna i ka Halekai No ka Ma'alewa (2:44)
1.05 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Ho'okani Misionari (2:47)
1.06 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Pohaku Kahiko (1:48)
1.07 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Pua Onaona (3:12)
1.08 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Lei Gardenia (2:13)
1.09 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Ponomau (1:45)
1.10 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Perine (4:06)
1.11 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Aia lā 'o Pele (2:26)
1.12 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Kawika (2:30)
1.13 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - 'Ula No Weo (2:25)
1.14 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Luakini (2:32)
1.15 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Kailua (2:28)
1.16 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Ku'u Leialoha (2:37)
1.17 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Nani Wale Lihue (3:02)
1.18 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Lutera (1:26)
1.19 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Ka'ahumanu (3:28)
1.20 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Hanalei (1:32)
1.21 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Pua Roselani (2:51)
1.22 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Sweet Lei Mamo (4:08)
1.23 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Himeni Misionari (0:52)
1.24 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Alanui Maika 'i - Hope o ka Himeni (1:45)
1.25 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Lili'u Ē (2:35)
1.26 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - He Mele Lāhui Hawai'i (2:41)
1.27 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Ke Aloha o ka Haku (2:33)
1.28 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Aloha 'Oe (4:23)
1.29 - Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble - Hawai'i Aloha (3:47)

Classical | World | FLAC / APE | Mp3

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  • Pilz
  •  wrote in 04:06
    • Like
    • 0
Thank you. Excellent disc.
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