Taonga pūoro
The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods and the planting of crops.
Knowledge of taonga pūoro has been revived over the past thirty years by Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns, Brian Flintoff and Clem Mellish.
Many of these musical traditions had been lost over time because of spiritual reservations Māori people held towards the instruments, but sensitive researchers and enthusiasts such as Richard Nunns, Hirini Melbourne, Clem Mellish and Brian Flintoff have done considerable restorative work and provided a wealth of knowledge and information around the sounds, history and stories of these taonga (treasures).
The kōauau is a small, ductless and notchless flute, 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) long, open at both ends and having from three to six finger holes placed along the pipe.
Kōauau resembles flutes the world over in tone quality and in the range of sounds that can be produced by directing the breath across the sharp edge of the upper aperture.
A long flute with a notched open top which is the blowing edge and a single finger hole near the end – the instrument was chanted through and was traditionally played over the fontanelle of an infant to implant songs and tribal information into the child's subconscious.
The pūtōrino varies in length from 20 to 50 cm (8 to 19.5 in) and has an uneven bore, swelling out to the centre and diminishing evenly towards the lower end, where the pipe is narrow and has either a very small opening or none at all.
The outer shape is carved from a solid piece of wood, split in half lengthwise, hollowed out like two small waka and then lashed together again with flax cord or a similar substitute for binding.
The finest specimens are decorated at both ends with carved figures, and the open mouth is part of a head which is outlined on the flat surface of the pipe.
[14] The Pūrerehua can be made of bone, wood or stone, they are blade-like and swing on a long cord producing a loud, deep whirling that can be heard from a distance.
It was made by hollowing a gourd, drilling holes on either side and attaching a cord by which it could be swung around the head creating a whistling, chattering voice that attracted birds.
In 2010, British film and orchestral composer, Paul Lewis collaborated with master taonga pūoro composer and performer, Horomona Horo, to produce, Legends of Rotorua, a fifty-minute composition for a wide variety of taonga pūoro, string quartet, harp, flute, storyteller and soprano.
[15] In 2015, Ariana Tikao and Philip Brownlee composed the first concerto for taonga puoro, called Ko Te Tātai Whetu.
[16][17] Horomona Horo, the protege of the late Dr Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns, was the winner of the inaugural Dynasty Heritage Concerto Competition in 2001, using an array of taonga pūoro.
[19] Richard Nunns was granted an honorary doctorate by the university in recognition of his contribution to New Zealand Music and the revival of taonga pūoro.
