Season 3, Episode 4
Please note: This podcast is spoken in te reo Māori & English
Grammy award-winning soloist and Māori musical instrument specialist Jerome Kavanagh hails from the Mōkai Pātea, Maniapoto and Kahungunu iwi in New Zealand, and from the Caomhanach clan in Ireland. For over twenty years, he has traversed the globe with his collection of taonga puoro (Māori musical instruments), sharing the exquisite sounds and songs of the natural world and the beautiful traditions of our tūpuna (ancestors).
In He Reo Tawhito, a Conversation about Mōteatea and Taonga Puoro with Jerome Kavanagh, we hear how mōteatea and taonga puoro go hand-in-hand, weaving together beautifully to tell stories that are ‘sung from the past, into the present, and into the future’. Jerome describes mōteatea as a connection:
“It’s telling stories of our tūpuna and significant places, and that’s really about connection. That’s what it is for me—mōteatea is a connection”.
Jerome explains how mōteatea has intimately influenced the way in which he creates sound and waiata through taonga puoro, weaving the mauri of mōteatea and puoro together to acknowledge the connection between two taonga.
He also explores the influence that the taiao (natural environment) has on mōteatea and taonga puoro, as elements like the sound of the wind and phrases sung by manu (birds) provide patterns, structure, and inspiration for compositions.
“For me, mōteatea and puoro all comes from the taiao—the sound, the rangi, are directly from the taiao”.
Hear Jerome’s vision for the future of mōteatea, and find out why mōteatea and taonga puoro sit together so harmoniously in this beautifully uplifting and moving conversation about mōteatea and taonga puoro.
Host: Crystal Edwards
Guest: Jerome Kavanagh
Links & Resources
Oro Atua – a puoro Māori sound healing journey
Production team
Producers: Toni Huata & Roger Smith
Sound Engineer: Phil Brownlee
Research: Dr Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal
Production Assistance: Ngahuia Maniapoto, Jonathan Engle & Alpana Chovan
Marketing: Leoné Venter
Executive Producer: Diana Marsh
Special thanks to
Oro Atua – a puoro Māori sound healing journey, performed by and thanks to Jerome Kavanagh.
Thanks to Adrian Wagner and Te Reo Irirangi o Te Upoko o te Ika
Cover Art: Kennedy Kioa Toi Faimanifo of Manatoa Productions
This podcast is supported by funding from Toi Aotearoa | Creative New Zealand, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and Recorded Music New Zealand.
© Copyright Centre for New Zealand Music Trust