Stars align

Composer Gareth Farr

…his new work is the longest orchestral piece he’s written.

Composer Gareth Farr is enormously proud of his new work for the NZSO, Ngā Hihi o Matariki (The Rays of Matariki). “It’s a little cracker,” he says. “No, a big cracker!” Commissioned as a “symphony”, at fifty-five minutes it is the longest orchestral piece Farr has written.

The seven connected movements of Ngā Hihi o Matariki are named for the seven visible stars (or pairs of stars) of the cluster of Matariki that rises in mid-winter. Farr’s also excited about his collaborators, three “wāhine toa”, taonga pūoro player Ariana Tikao, singer Mere Boynton and conductor Gemma New who will direct the upcoming premiere.  “I’ve learned so much doing this work,” says Farr, “in my research and more so working with Ariana and Mere. I’d like the audience to know more about Matariki after listening.”

Taonga pūoro musician and singer Ariana Tikao

The recent death of taonga pūoro pioneer Richard Nunns makes this premiere especially poignant. Farr collaborated on several works with Nunns, who was also a mentor for Tikao. She and Boynton have written the kupu, poetic words sung in two vocal  movements. “I discovered,” Farr says, “that Ariana is an amazing singer, so she has a double role.”

 Farr first worked with Boynton when she sang the Karanga for his work Te Papa in 1998 for the opening of our national museum. “I call that my orchestral pop song,” he says. “Many people were in tears. It was designed to be raw, ten minutes long, an event piece. This piece is quite different. I’ve worked my ass off to make sure it’s beautiful, well-considered orchestration.”

 Is it a symphony? “It’s symphonic in nature, it’s massive,” says the composer “and it has an ending designed for a standing ovation.” Farr agrees that composing at this length is a different process and says he’s been influenced by writing music for theatre. “That sense of an arch  - and being able to draw ideas out.”

“It’s the culmination for me of twenty-five years of learning how to collaborate, especially with Māori,” says Farr. “It’s an orchestral work, in that European tradition, but both cultures can stand strong. It’s about and for everyone.”

“Matariki” NZSO conducted by Gemma New, the world premiere of Ngā Hihi o Matariki by Gareth Farr, with Ariana Tikao (taonga pūoro)  and Mere Boynton (kaikaranga) Auckland 2 July, Wellington  9 July. Re-broadcast by RNZ Concert on 24 June 2022.

This article was first published in the NZ Listener in the June 26, 2021 issue