Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 7, 1 July 2009 — Nahenahe voices bring classics to life [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nahenahe voices bring classics to life

By Francine Murray Brnadcast/Media Cnnrdinatnr They share a passion for Hawaiian music, and if you do too, you've got to eheek out Mānoa Voices, a group of University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Ensemble class students who used to kani ka pila with their teaching assistant Chadwick Pang. Impressed, a listener advised them to record their talents; instead, they entered the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame's 2007 Ka Himeni Ana, an annual unamplified Hawaiian Music contest dedicated to the perpetuation of oldfashioned Hawaiian music without microphones. Mānoa Voices stole the show with their gentle manner and sweet melodious voices, winning a recording contract with Hula Records. They went on to record this self-

titled CD and were nominated for Most Promising Artist at the 32nd annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards. They didn't take the prize, but with their smooth effortless harmonizing, these perfectly tempered voices are as natural as birds with their nahenahe style. This CD starts dehghtfully playful with "E Nani E," composed by Gertrude Ka'ahapu and arranged by Pang. "Palisa" is of a voyage in a hotair halloon over Paris. The tender "Pua Mae'ole" by John "Squeeze" Kamana describes his love for his daughter. Sophronia Smith authored and sings the heartfelt "Te Atairangikaahu" for the inspirational Māori Queen. She also resonates beautifully with a bit of jazz in "Beneath the Māori Moon" by her great-great-granduncle, Walter Smith. The sentimental voice of Rosanna Perch

will leave a mark with the heightened passion of her voice in "Manu 'Ō'ō." A eouple of exquisite classics by Lena Machado are featured, "U'ilani" and " Aloha Nō." The magical ending, "Ho'onani Ka Makua Mau," The Doxology by Louis Bourgeois, includes the second verse composed by Haunani Bernardino in 2005. They pay homage by singing the original verse traditionally, and then switch it up in the

second verse, contemporary choral style. Pang describes it best, "When we sing about the stars, all the voices ascend to a single note. When we sing about the splendors of the universe, all the voices cascade down into colorful harmonies." Available at HulaRecords.com aiul mostfine music stores. For information and to listen to a demo, visit ManoaVoices.com. I

[ĒM. www.oha.org/kwo

MELE 'AILANA ■ ISLAND MUSIC SCENE

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Mānoa Voices Mānoa Voices Hula Records

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