Rediscovering New Zealand Art Song
Recording · Song · New Zealand · 2021
A major recording, performance and archival project recovering a remarkable body of early New Zealand art song and bringing it back into performance.
David’s role: Pianist
The Project
The Call of the Huia was the first part of an ambitious project by New Zealand conductor, musician and editor Michael Vinten to rediscover the largely forgotten art-song repertoire written in New Zealand before 1950.
Vinten’s research ultimately uncovered 116 songs, published across three collections: The Call of the Huia, The Golden Kowhai and Song of the Tui. His research material now forms part of the Archive of New Zealand Music at the Alexander Turnbull Library, within the National Library of New Zealand.
The first volume, The Call of the Huia, concentrates on music written up to approximately 1929 and brings together 37 songs by 14 New Zealand composers. The repertoire reveals a musical culture considerably richer and more varied than its subsequent neglect might suggest, encompassing songs in English, German and Māori and music connected with figures including Katherine Mansfield and Heinrich Heine.
The complete collection was recorded in Wellington by mezzo-soprano Sarah Court, tenor Oliver Sewell and baritone Robert Tucker, with David Barnard and Bruce Greenfield at the piano. The performances were recorded by RNZ Concert and filmed by SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music, creating a permanent performance record alongside the newly edited scores.
The Call of the Huia was subsequently broadcast nationally by RNZ Concert as part of Music Alive, introducing this rediscovered repertoire to a wider New Zealand audience.
David’s Role
David was one of the two pianists involved in the project, working with the singers across this unfamiliar repertoire and contributing to both the live performance and recorded collection.
The project drew particularly on his work as a collaborative pianist and song specialist: approaching music that in many cases had disappeared from the regular repertoire and helping to give these works a contemporary performing life.
For David, then working professionally in New Zealand, the project also provided an unusual opportunity to engage directly with the country’s musical heritage — not simply through established repertoire, but through music being recovered, edited and heard afresh.
Artists & Partners
Michael Vinten — Compiler & Editor
Sarah Court — Mezzo-soprano
Oliver Sewell — Tenor
Robert Tucker — Baritone
David Alexander Barnard — Piano
Bruce Greenfield — Piano
RNZ Concert — Recording & Broadcast
SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music — Publication & Film
Recorded: St Andrew’s on the Terrace, Wellington · 12 February 2021
Watch & Listen
The Call of the Huia — score and recordings at SOUNZ
The Collection
37 songs · 14 composers · 152-page score · 37-track recording
Compiled and edited by Michael Vinten, The Call of the Huia was published in 2021 as the first volume of A Collection of Early New Zealand Art Songs. The publication includes biographies of its composers and poets alongside the complete musical scores and accompanying recordings.
Explore The Call of the Huia at SOUNZ →
Press
“Singing teachers are already pouncing on the collection, which fills a significant gap.”
— Elizabeth Kerr, Five Lines / New Zealand Listener
Writing about The Call of the Huia, respected New Zealand music critic Elizabeth Kerr highlighted the significance of Michael Vinten’s work in recovering a body of early New Zealand song that had largely disappeared from view. She explores the composers, poets and musical history behind the collection, and its importance in making this repertoire available again to singers, pianists and audiences.
Call of the Huia — old songs made new
Read Elizabeth Kerr’s article at Five Lines →
