William Dart launches a new series of New Horizons with a special for Waitangi Day – a tribute to the late Richard Nunns and the very much alive Horomona Horo, masters of the taonga puoro.
Richard Nunns at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary during the recording of He Ara Pūoro. Photo: RNZ/Gareth Watkins
When I first heard the tremulous whisper of this koauau on Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns’ first album, it seemed to have emerged from the mists of time. This ground-breaking CD, 28 years ago, was, for so many of us, a major revelation.
Its title, Te Ku Te Whe, translated as “The Woven Mat of Sound”, had just the right mix of poetry and down-to-earth practicality. Indeed, so beautiful was the weaving in it that it’s fair to say that our nation’s musical soul would have been so much the poorer without the work of these two men, giving new life to the long silenced voices of traditional Maori instruments or taonga puoro.
Launching another year of New Horizons on Waitangi Day, it seemed the perfect opportunity to acknowledge Richard Nunns' enormous contribution to the fabric, character and well-being of our country’s culture.
This man helped make the sounds of taonga puoro very much part of the contemporary music world — in classical concert halls with composers such as Gillian Whitehead, as well as in the avant-gardish jazz scene. And then there was the central role that he made for himself and his soundworld in the music of the burgeoning Maori Renaissance, working with artists such as Moana Maniapoto and The Moa Hunters, and Ngā Tae.
Music Details
ARTIST: Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns
TITLE: Koau
ALBUM: Te Ku Te Whe
COMPOSER: Melbourne, Nunns
LABEL: Rattle
ARTIST: Moana & The Moahunters
TITLE: Hine Tangi-Manawa
ALBUM: Rua
COMPOSER: Maniopoto
LABEL: Tangata
ARTIST: Marilyn Crispell, Richard Nunns, Jeff Henderson
TITLE: Gentle Folk
ALBUM: This Appearing World
COMPOSER: Crispell, Nunns, Henderson
LABEL: Rattle
ARTIST: Ngā Tae
TITLE: He Moemoea
ALBUM: Ngā Tae
COMPOSER: Ngā Tae
LABEL: Rattle
ARTIST: Ngā Tae
TITLE: Star Waka
ALBUM: Ngā Tae
COMPOSER: Ngā Tae, Ihimaera
LABEL: Rattle
ARTIST: Voices16, Voices NZ, Horomona Horo
TITLE: Pounamu
ALBUM: Voice of the Soul
COMPOSER: Fisher
LABEL: Atoll
