E Kuini E Kapiʻolani by Thomas Goedecke for SATB and organ

Описание: E Kuini E Kapi'olani - Thomas Goedecke
performed by the N.E.O. Voice Festival 2022 and directed by Dr. David Harris at FCCLA, Los Angeles, California

E Kuini e Kapiʻolani is a mele inoa (name chant) of Queen Kapiʻolani, wife to King Kalākaua who is credited as being the aliʻi to bring hula back into practice in the late 19th century. This reverence for traditional practices
was shared with Kapiʻolani, as she shared the vision of hoʻoulu lāhui (increasing the nation). She did so by creating many medical facilities across the islands, as well as tending to sacred spaces both of the Hawaiian
Church and of the resting places of aliʻi. Her name “ka piʻo lani” (the arch of the heavens) is a reference to rainbows, a strong image of chiefs in Hawaiʻi.
One of the beauties of mele inoa is that there can be many interpretations of a name. In this chant, the central image is that of a rainbow, and how that rainbow can take on many different refractions in the sky. It brings in images of the highest heavens, the lani-est of lani, and of those who revere the heavens and higher rainbows such as the lower rainbows (lower chiefs) and priests. Her work as a proponent of hoʻoulu lāhui is referenced, while also connecting the people of Niʻihau to the reverence of the queen in front of them.

My hope with this piece is to hold space for this reverence, the act of interpretation, the act of signifying and being Signified. The sound of a western choir is not foreign to Hawaiian music, in fact the aliʻi of the Hawaiian Kingdom of the 19th century were regularly practicing western music alongside music that was endemically Hawaiian. I am inspired by the ways in which western choral and Hawaiian traditions have blended over the last few centuries, and have endeavored to bring these two timbral worlds
into the same sonic space by articulating distinctive resonant strategies through contrasting note heads. It is a continuation of centuries’ practice begun by composers like Queen Liliʻuokalani, who learned from Henri
Berger, a student of Richard Strauss and continued that practice through a strong lineage of music makers that lives vibrantly today, incorporating timbres and textures of western ensembles and bringing it into focus
through a Hawaiian lens.

E Kuini E Kapiʻolani // Queen Kapiʻolani
Nou e ka ahi piʻo i ka lewa // Yours is the arched flame of the sky
ʻIke kō Kahiki kupu eu // Seen by the spirits of the Kahiki
Ua loha o Kuaihelani // Heard by the highest and most sacred heavens
I ke kono a ka uakoko // Invited by the earth-clinging and rainbow-sprinkling rain
Me ka ʻalae nui a Hina // And the great mud hen of Hina, goddess of the moon
Nāna i hoʻopuni nā moku // She who traveled the islands
Kahiko nā kaha o Nalani // Beautifying the ancient dwelling of the chiefs
Haʻina mai ka puana // This is the end of our praise
O Kapiʻolani i ka ʻiu o luna // For Kapiʻolani, so sacred and high