Mānawatia a Matariki!
No fewer than eight choirs, five composers, three lyricists, and a kapa haka rōpū will all feature in Matariki He Kāhui Reo (Matariki, a constellation of voices), the ground-breaking choral work that is Aotearoa New Zealand’s signature offering at the World Choir Games 2024.
Devised by creative team John Rosser, Robert Wiremu and Ataahua Papa, the work celebrates the nine identified whetū (stars) of the Matariki cluster.
A group of the country’s most eminent choral composers – David Hamilton, Anthony Ritchie, Chris Artley, Rosa Elliott and Reuben Rameka – has set to music texts by Tuirina Wehi, Ataahua Papa and Māori star lore expert Rangi Mātāmua, who advised the creative team throughout the writing process.
The world première at Holy Trinity Cathedral will be an immersive experience for the audience, with the choirs (each embodying a single whetū) arranged right around the glass-walled cathedral to suggest a separated but connected cluster. Matariki herself will move in among her ‘star children’ as they perform.
In line with the importance of this event in the choral history of Aotearoa, the choirs chosen to sing in Matariki He Kāhui Reo are among the finest in the country: Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir, Viva Voce, New Zealand Youth Choir, The Graduate Choir New Zealand, Auckland Chamber Choir, Choralation and Fortissimo.
The work will be sung entirely in te reo Māori, with narration and screen translations in English.
