Signature Choir performs with the NZSO (Mana Moana 2022). Photo: Supplied
There was only one thing that disappointed Three to Seven host Bryan Crump when he saw the brilliant Pasifika ensemble, the Signature Choir, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra last year – it was a one-off. However, RNZ Concert recorded the songs, and they are now available to listen to on a range of music streaming platforms.
- Listen to Mana Moana songs on Spotify here
- Listen to Mana Moana songs on YouTube here
And, this month, the Wellington based choir and the orchestra will bring Mana Moana, their unique Pasifika flavour of symphonic sound, to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland with a bigger choir, and more songs.
Signature Choir's Music Director, Helen Tupai, couldn't be more excited.
"I think Auckland is in for a treat...we're so happy to be able to do this again, thank you NZSO."
At least this time, Tupai and the choir will be ready for the response from the fans which came in the wake of last year's show in Wellington. Not just from those in the hall, but folk from all around the globe who picked up news of the event via social media.
The next morning Tupai had messages from her family in America, in Hawai'i, in Samoa, from friends in England. She had no idea the response would be as big as it was.
Mana Moana is a performance of songs from across the South Pacific, collated by Tupai and accompanied by a full symphonic score arranged by Thomas Goss.
Songs of love, of faith, of Pasifika pride, songs that will bring a tear to more than a few eyes, and most of all, songs that make you want to move.
"It's a natural thing for Pacific people," says Tupai. "That's where a lot of the energy comes from in our singing... If we stand still it's a very rigid sound... It just happens naturally, it's organic, we move every time we sing... we feel the rhythm."
It'd also be fair to say, spirituality plays a big part in the Signature Choir's credo.
Take, for example, Tupai's own piece, "Lo'u Fesoasoani" based on a Samoan version of Psalm 121.
Tupai recites the English translation:
"I look to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord. 'Lo'u Fesoasoani' is my help".
Tupai wrote it in the wake of the Covid pandemic, the catastrophic eruption of Tonga's Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano, and the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
"Being a person of faith, I thought, oh my goodness, what can I write about? ...and that passage was there and I thought actually, when this world was created, it was created to be beautiful and good and we've just somehow lost our way".
She wanted the piece to remind folk that if they focus on being caretakers of "this beautiful world that we've got, and looking after people, I think we'll be okay".
Just about all members of the Signature Choir come from a church singing background.
That was one of the reasons Tupai set it up. She wanted to create a way of keeping that singing going for people who were no longer near their home church.
For this month's Tāmaki Makaurau gig, singers from the Auckland region will join the choir, swelling its numbers to 80.
And just like last year's debut concert at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Goss will be creating the symphonic accompaniment, a collaboration which has been a revelation for Tupai.
"When we say something is beautiful, we don't just say it's beautiful, we give it a picture, we say it's beautiful like the flower that opens... And what Thomas did with the music was he brought to life the opening of the flower."
So given Mana Moana is a concert of songs from across the Pacific, when is the Signature Choir going to take the show overseas?
"I would love the opportunity. I don't know how that would happen. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
We reckon the rest of the world would lap it up.
Mana Moana debut concert in Wellington 2022 Photo: Susana Suisuiki
