Te whenua kura (from ‘Maoriland’)

About

One of six songs from Alice Mackay's 'Maoriland' cycle (see also, 'A Bush Song' and 'The Grey Ship'), ‘Te whenua kura’ ('Lament of a Maori chief for lost tribal lands') is an especially important song. Poet Jessie Mackay, whose words are here set to music, was an ardent supporter of Maori causes, and this song captures the political concern over land seizures.

A later version of 'Te Whenua Kura' has a much-simplified piano part, but it is the more complex original represented here.