TechnoSonics XIX: Voices Concert 3 WAI and EcoSono Ensemble

2018-09-23 (Creation date: 2018-09-23)

WAI from New Zealand with the EcoSono Ensemble:
a collaboration across cultures, histories and ecosystems Toi tu te whenua, Ngaro atu te tangata
People come and go but the land remains

WAI features Mina Ripia, Maaka Phat, Uta Te Whanga and Tuari Dawson. 

EcoSono Ensemble features Matthew Burtner, Glen Whitehead, Kevin Davis, Christopher Luna-Mega, and I-Jen Fang

Punga Shores          WAI

Hine Te Iwaiwa          WAI

Sands that Move          Glen Whitehead

Ki A Korua          WAI

Festival of Whispers          Matthew Burtner

Ko Te Rerenga          WAI

Windrose          Matthew Burtner

Kāore Hoki          WAI

Improvisation

Tirama          WAI

The Speed of Sound in an Ice Rain          Matthew Burtner
     Mike Gassman, electric guitar

Hine Te Ihorangi          WAI

This concert and the WAI residency are generously sponsored by the Gassmann Fund for Innovation In Music and the Coastal Futures Conservatory.

Concert III - Program Notes
WAI and EcoSono explore intercultural histories through the exchange of musical invention in collaboration with the environment. Combining the ancient “Punga” (anchor) and the “Poi” technologies with contemporary computer music and ecoacoustic approaches, WAI and EcoSono engage in interactive improvisations through sound, song, movement and ecology.

Punga Shores
The concert opens with Punga Shores, a field recording of the place where Maaka discovered the Punga anchor which became the basis and metaphor for our collaboration.

Hine Te Iwaiwa - WAI
Hine Te Iwaiwa was written by a family member Nuki Tākao and local weavers, when they were preparing to begin their craft. Hine Te Iwaiwa is the principal goddess of Te Whare Pora – The House of Weaving. Hine Te Iwaiwa represents the arts pursued by women. Along with this, she is a guardian over childbirth. For us this song is our connection to the Poi. Hine Te Iwaiwa is also the head of the Aho Tapairu, an aristocratic female line of descent. Sometimes this goddess is referred to as Hina, the female personification of the moon.

Sands That Move - Glen Whitehead
Sands That Move is based on the Great Sand Dunes National Monument highlighting the long history of this site and the people who, from age-to- age, have stood in awe and wonder of this geographical phenomenon at the northern edge of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. These constant shifting sands have gone by many names from the earliest people to the Navajo who called it Saa waap maa nache,“sand that moves,” and the Apaches who settled in New Mexico who called it Sei-anyedi, “it goes up and down.” This fixed media piece was created out of many interacting, free- flowing evolving actions including rapidly moving college students from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs taking great effort to conjure the dunes as a sonic membrane. The trumpet-based computer accompaniment emulates these efforts and starts gathering its own momentum much like a dune fueling its own energy once it is engaged.

Ki A Korua - WAI
“Mina’s father wrote this song for his parents (Mina’s grandparents) when they passed on. It speaks of the tears that flow for them; we remember the love and joy that they shared with us.”
Festival of Whispers - Matthew Burtner
Whispers from people and instruments past and present interact as the sea erodes the foundation of the building. The piece was commissioned by the Athenaeum Library in La Jolla, CA.

Ko Te Rerenga - WAI
“Mina is of Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Whātua decent on her father’s side and Ngāti Kahungunu decent on her mother’s side. This song is a history lesson that talks of the time when Māori of Ngā Puhi decent were populating the northern part of Aotearoa/NZ. Traditionally we have many songs like this that talk of history, passed down through the ages, so that we never forget people, places and experiences of the past. Gifts for the future generations.”

Windrose - Matthew Burtner
A windrose is a measure of the winds’ directions in a specific location across a period of time. The piece uses original software that allows the performer to play the windrose of the concert location.

Kāore Hoki - WAI
Kāore Hoki speaks of a passionate expression of grief and sorrow for ancestors whom have passed. Never ending is the love and never ending is the heartache.

Improvisation with the sounds of Australian birds, Tasmanian Devils and cedar trees.

Tirama - WAI
Tirama was written by Maaka’s first cousin Hēmi Te Peeti. Matariki is the Māori name given to the Pleiades star system. When it comes into view it is commonly agreed as the start of the Māori New Year, generally around May or June, and signals a time to prepare the land for the year ahead, to prepare and store food and to meet and discuss issues that affect the families and sub tribes. Tirama names some of the stars and also the actions taken at the time of the Māori New Year.

The Speed of Sound in an Ice Rain - Matthew Burtner
An ice rain crackles on the leaves of a magnolia tree. Musicians perform changing density, temperature and humidity, altering the speed of the sound.

Hine Te Ihorangi - WAI
Hine Te Ihorangi is the goddess and personification of rain. This was written by Keri Tākao and it talks of what happens when you are blessed with life. It speaks of the heavens, water and it’s life-giving properties. This connects us to what we as humans are mostly made up of, and what the world is mostly covered by, Water.

Glen Whitehead (Composer); Matthew Burtner (Composer); Kevin Davis (Instrumentalist); Christopher Luna-Mega (Instrumentalist); I-Jen Fang (Instrumentalist); Mina Ripia (Musician); Maaka Phat (Musician); Uta Te Whanga (Musician); Tuari Dawson (Musician)

University of Virginia Concert Recordings

Music Library

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