Tama Ngakau Marie

About

This short work began as part of Crux fidelis, written early in 2001 on a commission from Diocesan School for Girls, Auckland. Once I reached this text, I decided the music and even the text itself didn't suit the larger work, so I extracted this as a separate work. Tama Ngakau Marie is a well-known traditional hymn in the Maori language, and is widely sung in New Zealand. The text is a prayer for deliverance from evil and request for God's love. It has a somewhat solemn tune, and the exact origin of the text is obscure. My setting is in a simple tonal style but with frequent changes between three and four beats in the bar. The first verse features a solo voice which returns later singing a descant above the main melody. The work was finally completed in late 2001 and first performed at Epsom Girls Grammar School's senior prizegiving of that year.

The work can be performed using the version in the vocal score: solo voice and choir, with flute and piano accompaniment. The solo vocal part could be divided between two different singers, an alto for the opening section and a soprano for the later section.