Tuesday 1 May 2018 2:25pm
The University's Hocken Collections, Uare Taoka o Hākena is running a wonderful programme of events to celebrate New Zealand Music Month.
As a holder of significant, rich and varied music collections, it is no wonder Hocken Collections, Uare Taoka o Hākena is getting involved in NZ Music Month.
"It gives us an excellent opportunity to promote our collections to the public, and to academic and music communities."
The annual month-long celebration of home-grown music, which happens nationwide each May, is of “great relevance” to the Hocken, Research Services Manager Lynn Benson says.
“It gives us an excellent opportunity to promote our collections to the public, and to academic and music communities.”
The Hocken holds sound recordings, sheet music, songbooks, posters and ephemera, archival music material as well a large book and periodical holdings.
“We actively collect in this area as it’s a hugely important part of New Zealand’s history, culture and political landscape and is an area of much active interest by researchers,” she says.
To celebrate NZ Music Month, the Hocken has put together a fantastic month-long programme, covering a wide range of music, topics and research interests, as well as singing! All of the events are free, open to the public and no bookings are necessary.
From God Defend New Zealand to Straitjacket Fits
All Hail! Zealandia! by Robert P. Crosbie - a rare item on display for NZ Music Month.
To call the Hocken’s music-related collections eclectic would be an understatement.
Within its care lies not only the rare and significant, but the uniquely Dunedin.
Two copies of the extremely rare first English edition of God Defend New Zealand, first published in 1877, sits alongside one of the two copies known to still exist of All Hail! Zealandia! by Robert P. Crosbie, and Francis Valpy, dating back to 1885, and considered by some to be New Zealand’s alternative national anthem.
In the music sheets, the earliest piece is Whalers of the Deep Deep Sea, by Te Heu Heu, which dates to about 1854.
In the music recordings, the Hocken holds the only known copy of the first recording by a New Zealand artist Maiden of Morven by Wellington baritone John Prouse, recorded in London in 1905.
More current items include a near-complete run of Flying Nun releases, and major donations and deposits of live performances from the 1980s and 1990s by artists associated with Flying Nun, of the ‘Dunedin Sound’ sub-genre.
The Hocken's NZ Music Month programme:
Thu 3 May, 5:30pm
Dr David Murray, Hocken Collections Archivist
False Accents: the extraordinary manipulations of Monsieur Léon-Driver, ‘the finest solo pianist who has ever visited the colonies’.Thu 10 May, 1 to 2pm
From Beethoven to Bolan… and beyond!
Four University of Otago Department of Music, Theatre & Performing Arts Te Kāhui Tau postgraduate research talks on a fascinating range of topics:
Alison Blair - 20th Century Boys: Re-framing British Glam Rock
Michael Holland - Historicising the Now: Contemporary Perspectives on the “Dunedin Sound"
Dr Irene Hundleby - Kwaimani Ana Liohaua Gia-The Heart of Us: An Exploration of Women’s Music in Malaita, Solomon Islands
David Suggate - Beethoven's ‘Missa Solemnis’ in Relation to Jungian ArchetypesThu 17 May, 5:30pm
Dr Ian Chapman (Senior Lecturer in Music, University of Otago Department of Music, Theatre & Performing Arts Te Kāhui Tau)
"If the homework brings you down then we’ll throw it on the fire and take the car downtown" (Bowie): The Writing Adventures of a Kiwi High School Drop-out.Sat 26 May, 3 to 4pm
Between the sheets: A sing-along of treasures in the Hocken sheet music collection
Hear excerpts from the Hocken sheet music and songbook collections and discover the stories behind these songs. Opportunities for sing-alongs will be provided, along with refreshments! Come prepared to join in!All month
Hocken Music Month poster wall
During May a display in the Hocken foyer will celebrate the richness of the Hocken’s diverse music-related collections. Open 10am to 5pm, Mon to Sat