Songs of a Kaumatua: As Sung by Kino Hughes

Edited by Margaret Orbell & Mervyn McLean

‘Beautifully produced, it includes a brief biography of main singer Kino Hughes (1896–1986), backgrounds the people of Tuhoe, discusses the differences between recited and sung songs and then presents the songs. . . . I am sure further prizes will come to the authors of this book.’ – David Verran, Sunday Star-Times

This is a unique historical document uncovering the richness of Tūhoe music and poetry. Includes 60 traditional songs from outstanding singer Kino Hughes with the text of each song in both English and Māori; musical transcriptions; information on Kino Hughes, the people of Tūhoe, the song categories used and the music; photographs; a glossary; notes on the texts and the transcriptions; an index of song types; and two CDs. Introduction by Taiarahia Black.

Editors

Dr Mervyn McLean was formerly associate professor of Ethnomusicology at The University of Auckland (retired 1992). He was also the founding head of the Archive of Māori and Pacific Music, formally established within the Department of Anthropology at The University of Auckland in 1970. Present holdings include more than 5000 reel tapes, 1100 audio cassettes, 600 video cassettes and over 500 commercial discs. Among the Archive’s noteworthy collections of music is the material personally recorded by Dr McLean’s – some 1300 items of traditional Māori chant and 30 hours from the Cook Islands. Dr McLean has written prolifically on Māori and Pacific music and has published a number of critically acclaimed books, including Maori Music and Weavers of Song: Polynesian Music and Dance. He was co-author with Margaret Orbell of the Traditional Songs of the Maori and with Raymond Firth of Tikopia Songs. Dr Margaret Orbell (1934–2006) was associate professor of Māori at the University of Canterbury and a highly respected scholar of Māori culture. She was the author of many books and papers on Māori and Polynesian tradition, literature and belief including Maori Poetry (1978) and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Maori Myth and Legend (1995), which was a finalist in the 1996 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Shortlisted for Montana Book Awards 2003.

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