Tag: music

  • Conversation and Cloth – Hokitika

    The West Coast of Aotearoa New Zealand is full of history and tales. In the middle of the Southern Winter, as the world turns and seasons change, a star cluster rises in the sky. This is known in New Zealand as Matariki, a shortened version of “Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea” (the eyes of the…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    The playlist this week, as always, references articles on the blog. It is a curated list of interesting and unusual pieces, some old and some new, in different genres, all related in some way to the blog. In this week’s playlist, “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle” by Béla Bartók is included in its entirety. This work, the…

  • A tapa sampler

    The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Aotearoa’s national museum, has a unique taonga: a book of tapa samples. This book, rather grandly entitled “A Catalogue of the different specimens of cloth collected in the three voyages of Captain Cook, to the Southern hemisphere : with a particular account of the manner of the…

  • Can indigenous knowledge help mathematics?

    A university in Australia, the Australian National University, has developed a course in mathematics that includes teaching about Indigenous Knowledge. For anyone interested in mathematics, particularly where the arts are concerned – see the read more section below – a course that includes this kind of knowledge is invaluable. There are many ways of explaining…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a playlist on the streaming platform, Spotify, is created to go along with the blog. The list relates to articles on the blog, some obvious and others not. The playlist brings together music from diverse sources and genres, linked through common themes. To hear the playlist click on the player above or open…

  • Thula Mntwana/ Dingaka Lullaby

    Thula Mntwana is a well-known and much-loved song from South Africa, but it has a troubled history. In 1964 the film Dingaka was released. It told the story of a man seeking revenge on those who had killed his daughter, and his subsequent trial for murder. The film (you can see it on the YouTube…

  • Of shearing and songs

    In April 1956, the magazine Te Ao Hou,offered an article to its readership about Tuini Ngāwai, the Māori musician, teacher, shearer and cultural ambassador. Tuini Moetū Haangū Ngāwai was born in 1910 and survived her twin, Te Huinga, to become one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most well-known and respected songwriters. She was also an accomplished…

  • Choir news

    Over the past few months the choir at the Left Bank Gallery has been working on pieces to perform. Amongst them has been Puhihuia – an article about this piece appeared on the blog in March – and the South African piece, Dingaka Lullaby (Onika’s Song). Dingaka Lullaby was created for a film called Dingaka…

  • How technology can help Cantonese opera

    In the city of Hong Kong the centuries-old art of Cantonese opera is making use of technology to help students to learn the artform and sustain it. Professor Leung Bo Wah, Head of Cultural and Creative Art at the Education University of Hong Kong, has created a virtual reality programme, using the same 3D imaging…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Every week a curated list of music and sounds goes along with the blog. The pieces in the playlist relate to the articles on the blog, some obviously and some obliquely. Those with a paid subscription to the streaming service can listen to the entire playlist uninterrupted. Anyone with a free subscription will be able…