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October 03, 2024
Definitive versions of waiata for school songbook
Gideon Porter
Posted On October 3, 2024
Download AudioSome of Aotearoa’s most iconic waiata Māori have been put together as a digital resource for schools.
The Aotearoa Songbook is a collaboration between reo and haka exponents and music licensing body APRA AMCOS NZ.
Musician and kapa haka performer Pere Wihongi says there was an exhaustive process to ensure the correct lyrics and compositions were found for each of the 22 waiata.
“A very, very strict process I would say, of debate, of wānanga, with the likes of Tā Tīmoti Kāretu, Dame Hinewehi Mohi as well, along with the uri – the descendants of these composers – to ensure that the lyrics, the names, the phrasings, and even the arrangements were correct,” Wihongi says.
The songbook includes classic waiata like Karanga Aotearoa and Tutira Mai Nga Iwi.
