Alfred Hill’s prominent place in the musical life of early twentieth century Pākehā society is well established, but NZSM Master of Music student Melissa Cross has revealed the extensive contact he had with Māori communities and individuals.
Her research also shows the ways in which this influenced both his composing style and the way Alfred and New Zealand audiences viewed themselves.
As part of her Master’s thesis, Melissa examined Alfred’s staging of songs inspired by Māori culture in connection with the music he composed for Rudall Hayward’s centennial film, Rewi’s Last Stand.
For this, Melissa made use of previously unstudied materials and original musical scores held in Australian and New Zealand archives and libraries, and rare sound and film materials held in Wellington’s Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, the New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound.
Alfred’s popular arrangements of Māori songs, of which ‘Waiata Poi’ is the best known, were performed and appreciated by both Pākehā and certain iwi.
“His interest in Māori culture was widely received by Māori as a genuine attempt to understand Māori customs and intentions,” says Melissa.
She argues that these cross-cultural popular songs created a strong sense of indigeneity and nationhood for both Māori and Pākehā.
“Alfred’s arrangements contributed, and continue to contribute, to the nexus of Māori, war, and music in Pākehā narrations of New Zealand.”
NZSM’s Dr Brian Diettrich, who supervised the project along with colleague Dr Stephan Prock, added that Melissa’s work illustrates the value of music scholarship in uncovering New Zealand’s unique bicultural musical heritage.