| Author |
 Topic  |
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
 Posted - 10/02/2007 : 09:17:41 AM
|
I've been reading the biography of Lena Machado and learning about her seminal role in Hawaiian music. She way she sang, the instrumentation, her mastery of Hawaiian language and kaona and her constant touring and travels around mainland cemented the concept of pre-war and post-war Hawaiian music. She performed and toured for more than 50 years.
The breadth of her skill as a songwriter is amazing. You can also see that other musicians who played alongside her incorporated her style of writing and singing into their own music. I would put her work and influence on Hawaiian music alongside Charles E. King and Johnny Almeida. Do you agree?
Questions, for those of you with historical knowledge and perspective:
What other Hawaiian musicians/composers had as much influence as these three?
What was Lena Machado's greatest accomplishment or contribution?
What is your favorite Lena Machado song?
Jesse Tinsley
PS:
I've added a list of some of her songs from www.huapala.org:
*E Ku`u Baby Hot Cha Cha
* Ei Nei
* Holau
* Holo Wa`apa
* Ho`onanea
* Ipo Hula
* Kamalani O Keaukaha
* Kaulana O Hilo Hanakahi
* Kauoha Mai
* Ku`u Wa Li`i Li`i
* Lei Kiele
* Moani Ke Ala Ona Pua Makahikina
* Mai Lohilohi Mai Oe
* Mom
* None Hula
* Nuku O Nu`uanu
* Pohai Kealoha
* Pua Mamane
* U`ilani
|
Edited by - hapakid on 10/02/2007 09:21:56 AM |
|
|
hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2007 : 10:25:54 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by hapakid
I've been reading the biography of Lena Machado and learning about her seminal role in Hawaiian music. She way she sang, the instrumentation, her mastery of Hawaiian language and kaona and her constant touring and travels around mainland cemented the concept of pre-war and post-war Hawaiian music. She performed and toured for more than 50 years.
The breadth of her skill as a songwriter is amazing. You can also see that other musicians who played alongside her incorporated her style of writing and singing into their own music. I would put her work and influence on Hawaiian music alongside Charles E. King and Johnny Almeida. Do you agree?
Questions, for those of you with historical knowledge and perspective:
What other Hawaiian musicians/composers had as much influence as these three?
What was Lena Machado's greatest accomplishment or contribution?
What is your favorite Lena Machado song?
Jesse Tinsley
You have hit on a subject very near and dear to my heart as I think that there are no better songs for a falsetto singer to sing than those written by falsetto singers! And those by Lena Machado, Bill Aliiloa Lincoln, and John Piilani Watkins are THE very best, IMHO.
That being said, my favorite Lena Machado song to sing is "Ipo Hula." My second favorite to sing would be "Ma`anei Mai `Oe" which has so many leaps into head voice that it defies descriptions. My favorite Lena Machado song to hear is "Aloha No" which has some uncharacteristically jazzy chord changes. It is hardly Hawaiian at all except in the lyric content. Chadwick Pang and the UH Hawaiian Ensemble won Ka Himeni `Ana this year with their version of this song.
But I keep every one of the songs you listed (except for "Lei Kiele" and "Nuku O Nu'uanu") in my repertoire.
Whose work would I put in the category of King, Almeida, and Machado in terms of influencing generations of future singers/composers? For starters, Johnny Noble. He composed hundreds of hapa-haole numbers and was instrumental in bridging the gap between Hawaiian and jazz. (Otherwise Hawaiian music might still have the stately Charles E. King sound today.) Noble also provided the jazzy arrangements for traditional lyrics written by Jennie Napua Woodd ("Hale`iwa Hula"), Johnny Almeida ("Beauty Hula"), Mary Robins ("Leahi," "Lu`au Hula"), Matilda Kauwe, Lydia Kekuewa ("Hu`i E"), Mary Heanu, Sol Bright, Abbie Kong, and on and on and on. More importantly, like King, Noble was one of the first to publish the songs for posterity in written form.
Also of tremendous importance is Helen Desha Beamer. She risked religious persecution in a time when it was unacceptable for a lady to perform or compose. But she still cranked out hundreds of compositions - about three dozen of which are Hawaiian standards still performed frequently today.
Now add Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs and his more than 300 compositions and his creation of the Hawaiian "combo" sound we love today which he pared down from the then popular much larger dance bands. Every artist in Hawai`i today has multiple "Papa" Isaacs numbers in their repertoire. They were clever and kolohe.
Now add Alice Namakelua. Aunty Alice was instrumental in bridging generations and in teaching the art of composing to another generation. Robert Cazimero and Larry Lindsey Kimura would probably not be nearly the great composers they are without Aunty Alice's tutelage and encouragement.
And how remiss would I be not to mention the composing team of Mary Kawena Pukui and Maddy Lam? Their songs have universal appeal and account for much of the repertoire of today's musicians. More importantly, Kawena Pukui is to a large extent responsible for the revival of the Hawaiian language by publishing numerous volumes in Hawaiian and by writing the definitive Hawaiian-English dictionary.
And although it seems backwards to mention them now, the Royals (Kalakaua, Lili`uokalani, Likelike, and Leleiohoku) were the most prolific and erudite bunch ever. Without them, Hawaiian mele would not be what it is today.
Not nearly as prolific, but surely equally influential as any of the above - especially if you are a falsetto singer - were John Piilani Watkins and Bill Aliiloa Lincoln.
One who I feel is underrated given the cleverness of his compositions was Uncle Jimmy Kaholokula. I suspect that his time is yet to come... Also in time I think we will count among the composing legends Tony Conjugacion, Kaipo Hale, Robert Cazimero, Manu Boyd, Johnny Lum Ho, Moon Kauakahi, Keli`i Taua, Kekuhi Kanahele and Kaipo Friasm and Kaha`i Topolinski, and another generation hence, Keola Donaghy and Kainani Kahaunaele.
|
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
 |
|
|
wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2007 : 10:39:25 AM
|
Lena Machado has a voice that is incomparable to others. Her song writing abilities were so great because of her knowledge of the language and the Hawaiian mana`o in order to have kaona that is very subtle. Reading the book is a great way to learn the "story behind the mele". I would agree with you about her song writing having such impact as Johnny Almeida and Charles E. King. My opinion is that U`ilani is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It has been performed by such a wide range of singers from Clyde Sproat to Martin Pahinui to Auntie Genoa. I think it is a measure of the skill of the singer to do that song. But the poetry in it is so beautiful. The story of Ei Nei is such a beautiful love story. That is why this book is so important -- to document how the mele came to be.
However, don't forget Alfred Alohikea, Jacob Maka and Kawena Pukui. Maka penned quite a few songs that are still remembered today, plus he used music as an entree to politics. As regards Kawena Pukui, her command of the language and understanding of the Hawaiian ways has left such a great legacy. I cannot get over how even the simplest, everyday things would be immortalized in song such as Ku`u Pete.
But before Charles E. King, et. al., was the royal family. The Queen has penned some of the most beautiful songs ever. And the other members of trhe family weren't too shabby either. But those are the classics. King, Almeida & Machado brought Hawaiian music into the "jazz age" so to speak. They had to travel extensively on the mainland and were always longing for home.
And for modern song writers, there is none comparable to Dennis Kamakahi. He is the standard bearer of the succeeding generation. A penultimate poet and a scholar of the rich history of Hawaiian music, couple that with his instrumental talents and you get one of the most prolific modern day songwriters of all time.
I stand in awe of their talents. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
|
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2007 : 11:31:32 AM
|
Thanks for your insights, Bill and Wanda. I should have included Johnny Noble in the top list of names of those who influence on the musical genre is long lasting and pervasive. The songwriters who didn't record much themselves, including Alfred Alohikea, na Lani Eha and Mary Kawena Pukui have filled the repertoire of Hawaiian music so profoundly, should be listed in the same group, but because we don't have their recordings, their impact and legacy is different. Kawena's vast legacy includes many songs co-written with others.
Although there are many Hawaiian songs being written today, I would have to guess that the language usage in songs has been altered, simplified or become more formal because the writer, and perhaps even a translator, do not have Hawaiian as a first language. Is that an incorrect assumption?
Jesse Tinsley |
Edited by - hapakid on 10/02/2007 11:33:06 AM |
|
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2007 : 8:53:01 PM
|
| Not too incorrect but not totally right on either. I think some writers are more literal in their composition. But there are those who also reproduce the poetry of native Hawaiian. If one chooses to write in #699;olelo Hawai#699;i they should study the various forms of mele and #699;oli that exist. It helps when one wishes to be be as accurate as possible and true to the genre. We might say that songs are being written in a more modern style for lack of a better more comprehensive explanation.. This is where Keola D. might chime in to further clarify the issue. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
Edited by - noeau on 10/02/2007 8:54:25 PM |
|
|
|
keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 3:21:24 PM
|
This is a very complicated subject. I think that most contemporary composers are trying very hard to write in a way that would be appreciated by native speakers and composers of old. The older composers had a perspective of the world that is quite different from those of us who learned Hawaiian as a second language. The use of metaphor is something to behold, it is a reflection of that perspective. To me one of the highest uses of Hawaiian language in composition is when you can create a metaphor that has not been used before, yet is clearly understandable to someone who has a depth of knowledge in the language, and it is truly representative of Hawaiian thought, not a translated English one. Clarency Kinney did it with Holoholo Ka'a, Kawena with Ke Ala A Ka Jeep, and I tried to do it with Holo Paikikala and in other compositions - taking a situation that would not have been known in pre-contact Hawai'i put putting it in a Hawaiian perspective.
Knowledge of Hawaiian poetic devices like linked assonance is more widespread now than it was a few years ago, thanks to people like Larry Kimura, Puakea Nogelmeier and others teaching about Hawaiian poetry. It can be easy to get caught up in consciously trying to create those kinds of connections, in which case a mele can turn into a word puzzle. I'm always happiest when I can compose something there the thought is connected, and only when I go back and examine these details I find those kinds of word and sound connections. Both are important aspects of the poetry, but I have been taught and I thoroughly believe the connectedness of thought is more important.
As far as new compositions being more simplified, I don't know if I believe that, as a matter of fact, I think the opposite is true. The truly outstanding compositions that I have heard have an economy of words - the composers got the most out of every word, and yet were able to fit them to the meter of a western style melody. Some of my earliest works and many others of today I believe say too much. They can and perhaps should imply more but explicitly say less. A lot of it depends on the music as well. I've written a number of songs to more uptempo music that require more syllables than perhaps more traditional songs would have. Not so say that there aren't a number of verbose older compositions as well. |
|
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 8:58:28 PM
|
I appreciate the insight from Noeau and Keola very much. As a mainland fan of the music, my perception of the music is limited by my knowledge of the language and by my understanding of metaphors that come from poetic use of the language to describe the land, sea, flora and fauna.
I wasn't trying to put down modern composers in any way. But sometimes I hear a very literal contemporary song and language used doesn't seem to have complex phraseology or colloquial in usage. I wondered, after reading so many of Lena Machado's compositions, whether it was a change in the depth of understanding of the language among modern Hawaiians or if it is a change in style to integrate a modern viewpoint. I am intrigued that Lena Machado was very active during the evolution of Hawaiian music as a form of entertainment that she could compose in Hawaiian with the ideas of suggestive playfulness, hidden sensuality and deep romantic love at a time when there was a lot of hapa-haole music being written and sold as authetic Hawaiian sentiment. She was multilingual, speaking English, but honing her Hawaiian language, as well as Chinese language, while selling lei on the streets of Honolulu as a little girl.
Jesse Tinsley |
|
|
|
keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2007 : 9:47:09 PM
|
I think perhaps "direct" is a better term that "literal." There is a directness and preference for the active voice rather than passive in English, and this is something that Hawaiian students sometimes have difficulty mastering, if they ever do. For example, if your child is supposed to wash the dishes and has not, you could say:
Ua holoi anei 'oe i na pa? (Have you washed the dishes?)
It's direct, it's understandable, but probably not the best way. I would say:
Ua holoi 'ia anei na pa? (Have the dishes been washed?)
I think some of the playfuless that Jesse is alluding to comes from this lack of directness in the language, the implication of something happening rather than explicitly stating it.
As far as Lena's compositions go, I find many of them very conversational in manner, but her choice of words is incredible, every one perfectly chosen, and the marriage of her lyrics and music, the phrasing, priceless.
I do find it very difficult to talk about some of these things in a general way because there is great variety in her songs and those of John Almeida, whose compositions I've examined a bit more closely than Lena's. It might be worthwhile to pick a single song or even a verse and talk about it. |
|
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 06:45:10 AM
|
Lena Machado's compositions range widely in linguistic style. I think of "Ho'ohaehae (Ma'a Nei Mai 'Oe)" and it appears to have a conversational, literal and suggestive tone that seems designed to enhance a live hula performance, which can be serious, playful or teasing. "Ei Nei" seems like a straight romantic ballad in the American pop tradition. "Kauoha Mai" seems to be a love story with twists of disappointment and rejection, but the language is more indirect and open to the listener's interpretation of what is happening. What a wonderful legacy Lena Machado left for us.
I would not want to dissect a living composer's modern Hawaiian song, but some sound literal and direct, where a literal translation would contain the original intent of the composer. For instance, the words "aloha wau 'ia 'oe" might be used instead of "he aloha no".
Jesse Tinsley |
|
|
|
keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 07:34:25 AM
|
That was the reason for my hesitation to use the word "literal" which I correlate to the translation process. What we know about songs written by Lena, John Almeida, Lili'uokalani and how we understand some of the kaona and things that are implied instead of directly stated is that they sometime did write about them and talk about the meanings and subjects. JKA was always very coy when he talked about his compositions on Ka Leo Hawai'i; he never seemed to want to tell you exactly what they were implying. Larry Kimura would ask him, and he'd just repeat the lyrics, as if to say "It's right here, can't you see it?" Other composers were more inclined to explain their compositions.
As far as the language style, my inference was that grammatically many of Lena's compositions used the same complete grammatical structures of spoken Hawaiian. In mele you have some liberty to leave things out which would sound strange in conversational Hawaiian. Look at some of the mele in the story of Kaluaiko'olau and how different they are grammatically from the rest of the text.
I agree with you on the "aloha au ia 'oe" and almost used that as an example in my previous post, as Lena used it herself. Not a negative at all, combined with the truly traditional elements of her compositions it simply demonstrate her depth and breadth as a composer. |
|
|
|
keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 07:47:24 AM
|
BTW, I agree with your point on not dissecting a living composer's mele. I was encouraged by some to compare JKA's sung pronunciation with more contemporary artists when I did my MA thesis, and would never have done so. Even if it was done in the spirit of trying to help people understand the differences it could have been interpreted as a criticism.
My suggestion is that we perhaps look at one of Lena's compositions, even just a verse or two, and talk about what it is that provides this indirectness and leaves some things unsaid. We can also do so in an indirect way ;-) |
Edited by - keoladonaghy on 10/04/2007 07:48:03 AM |
|
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 08:08:26 AM
|
| Ah you see? Keola did clarify in terms that I struggled to utter. I would like to share that when I studied mele and 'oli there was a time when we took a song by Amy Gilliom that was translated by Kame'elehiwa. And we were assigned for homework to find a more poetic style and rewrite the verses in the "old" way of song writing. I might have misinterpreted the purpose of this task since i took it to mean that the more poetic approach rather than the conversational approach was what we as composers should strive for. That was then and this is now and Keola seems to clear up some of the ideas that i have about songs written in modern times. I also remember that when Dennis Kamakahi was writng I remarked to Larry Kimura how impressed I was with his writing. I am not trying to flame anyone but Larry said the grammar of his writing could use some improvement. So the point i am trying to make is there is no formulaic method of writing in Hawaiian. As Keola pointed out a composer can drop certain elements in a sentence and still be understood. And the acid test is whether the ideas in the piece are conveyed to the audience. I would think that if I would attempt to share that the fragrance of someone dear kindles the flames within it would be written in a way that did not just say "come on baby light my fire". |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
|
|
|
keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 08:13:45 AM
|
| As I was writing one of my posts above last night I was watching NighTime with Andy Bumatai (entertaining show, BTW, but the audio needs work). There was a piano player doing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and I had to laugh since we have been talking about lack of directness in Hawaiian. Could Marvin have been any more direct? ;-) |
Edited by - keoladonaghy on 10/04/2007 09:32:03 AM |
|
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 08:37:16 AM
|
Wow! Thanks to Keola and Noeau for their knowledge. It's been very enlightening.
Jesse Tinsley |
|
|
|
noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 08:57:53 AM
|
| Shirley yu jest. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
|
|
|
keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2007 : 09:57:56 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by noeau
I might have misinterpreted the purpose of this task since i took it to mean that the more poetic approach rather than the conversational approach was what we as composers should strive for.
I'm not saying that the conversational approach is what we are necessarily striving for - it's a stylistic choice. You can be poetic in a format that is grammatically more conversational in structure. You can do it in a structure that is less complete grammatically. No right or wrong there. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
