Favorite Hawaiian Songs - list of titles & intro

A collection of 42 favourite songs with Sheet Music - Piano and Lyrics

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Hawaiian Favourite Songs HAWAII, Land of Music and Flowers," is an oft repeated phrase heard not only on the lips of visitors to the land of the Kamehamehas, but echoed even by those who have lived in the country for years; and, indeed, music and flowers do go hand in hand in more intimate a sense in Hawaii than in perhaps any other country the world over. This is a fact that even the most casual observer will notice time and again. Take, for instance, the native Hawaiian as he goes forth on some errand . fraught with pleasure. Invariably it is with wreaths of flowers surrounding his hat and neck, and with song bursting forth from his lips. The soul of the Hawaian is filled to overflowing with poetry, and he must needs sing if he is to be happy. Indeed, in this land of sunshine and perpetual springtime, with the sea stretching far to the horizon and the mountains pointing toward the skies amidst a display of coloring that has never failed to delight the eye of the artist, it seems but natural that music should be the accompaniment to such beauty and grandeur. So it is the islands over—music and flowers, and poetry pervading the very atmosphere. The music of the Hawaiians of the olden times, when the white man's foot was unknown on these sea-girt shores, was typical in its nature, and, although the influences of civilisation, bringing with it - the music of the Anglo-Saxon, have changed to a very marked degree the original form, its type is still distinct for all that. There is in it an inexplicable something which never fails to charm. The music of the Hawaiian when once heard, like the music of the Italian boatman as he sends his gondola along, is never forgotten, whether heard on native soil or foreign shore. The Hawaiians of the olden times bad three or four distinctive types of songs. First may be mentioned the "Mele Koihonua," or royal chants. The " Mele Olioli" or love songs compose another type, and the "Mele Hula" or dancing songs, still another. Of course, there are modifications of these, such as the "Inoas " or name songs, composed at the time of the birth of a great chief, and the "Kanikaus," sung at the time of the death of a chief. The songs of the first type mentioned were only composed and sung for the high chiefs, while the songs of the second and third types were general in their nature and were invariably sung to the accompaniment of instruments peculiar to the Hawaiians. Only the briefest mention can be made of them here.. Among these instruments was the pahu (ipu hokeo) or drum, fashioned from well seasoned wood and covered with the skin of a shark. With this drum was always a smaller one, and upon the two the player kept time while the song was in progress. Another form of drum used was made from a species of Hawaiian gourd which sometimes grows to magnificent proportions. This was always placed directly in front of a player seated on the floor, underneath being several thicknesses of mats or cloth, as the case might be. At the " waist" portion of this gourd was always to be found a handle by means of which the player was wont to hold the instrument, using the left hand for this purpose and the right to tap lightly on the surface while bringing the bottom in contact, at intervals, with the pad of mats or cloth. The "Puili" is a bamboo stick divided at the top so that it spreads out like a band. This, too, was used for the purpose of keeping time, the method employed being to tap with it lightly on various parts of the body, the sound produced being of a swishing nature. The "Uliu-li" is perhaps the most fascinating of these native time keepers. It is a small gourd with a long stem, the point of which is decorated with feathers. The seeds are allowed to dry within the gourd, and when the " Uliu-li" is rattled in the hands of an expert, the sound has the effect of egging one on to the dance. When it comes to musical instruments, pure and simple, the Hawaiians of the olden times were not very well supplied. There were but two, these being the "Hano" or nose flute, and the "Uke-ke " which is simply a Jew's-harp in the rough. The "Hano" was made of bamboo into which holes had been burned, so that its appearance was very much the same as the flute of today except that it was, of course, very crude. The player, instead of using the mouth, always blew through the nose. This instrument has gone out of use entirely, the modern Hawaiians taking more kindly to the flutes that come from the music stores of the mainland. The "Uke-ke " is usually a slender piece of wood eight or ten inches in length, or even longer, and upon it is stretched a piece of "Olona," a stout twine made from the fiber of a tree of that name which grows in the mountains of the Islands. One end of this instru- ment is placed between the teeth, while, with a straw, or something of a like nature, held in the right hand, the string is touched with greater or less force according to the various imports of the song being produced, and in faster or slower time according to its nature. While among the older natives the music of the days of their fathers and mothers is still prevalent to a great extent, the younger generation content themselves with more tuneful music, excellent specimens of which may be found in this collection. They love to sing of nature and her beautiful manifestations, and when the music of the "Hula" is on, they like nothing better than to rise quietly and in rhythmic motions of the body, feet and hands, and eyes sparkling with joy, give vent to the pleasurable feeling which masters them and casts a spell no less impelling than the mysterious power of the mesmerist. The instruments of the old Hawaiians have succumbed to the onward march of civilization, and today they are very little used in the cities, although in the country districts one may often hear their weird sounds. The guitar, the banjo, the mandolin, the ukulele (modifi- cation of a Portuguese fiddle), and the flute, have taken their place and have come to stay; but, notwithstanding all these changes, the soul of the native music is ever present. It may be in the very atmosphere, and again it may be in the soft melodious voices of the Hawaiians, but certain it is that whenever and wherever produced, that indefinable feeling, likened by many unto pathos, comes creeping over one and lulls him away to realms that exist only in imagination. There is in it no inspiration to arise and do great deeds such as one experiences while listening to some of the masterpieces of the great European composers; rather is there a wooing away to rest and to dreams, and into regions where trouble may not enter.

Credits:
Famous Hawaiian Songs Arranged by A. R. CUNHA, Translations by W. H. Coney and Solomon Meheula, Drawings by ALLAN DUNN, PUBLISHED BY BERGSTROM MUSIC COMPANY, LTD. HONOLULU. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

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