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Click on album cover for high resolution jpeg. Queen Kapi´olani was the wife of Hawai´i’s “Merrie Monarch,” King David Kalakaua. Composed in sets and published in 19th-century Hawaiian-language newspapers, these mele express distinct tributes from her relatives and close friends. Woven into a poetic tapestry of aloha for Queen Kapi´olani, each individual mele is like a flower whose beauty is multiplied when combined together into a lei. This unique recording presents 17 historical hula chants in contemporary hula kahiko settings by award-winning kumu hula. Full texts and translations are included. This project is curated by respected hula scholar Dr. Amy Ku´uleialoha Stillman. |
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| Song List
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| Reviews
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"Kapi'olani: Legacy Hula Volume 2" by Kulia i ka Punawai; Daniel Ho Creations Genre: Contemporary renderings of historical chants Distinguishing notes: Kulia i ka Punawai is the kumu hula association of Southern California, which continues to preserve the riches of the past for the present and future generations of hula enthusiasts. The intent: to showcase the chants and mele linked to and honoring Queen Kapi'olani in simple recitations accompanied by the traditional ipu. Thus, kumu and pupils of halau in Southern California revisit some familiar, some not so well-known, mele that tell of lei, visits, capes, places and moments that filled the palette of mo'i Kapi'olani's life. A valuable liner booklet provides lyrics and translations; the 21 titles play like a relaxing recital tracking the curve of Kapi'olani's indelible history. But the CD is more academic — a learning tool to foster the appreciation and understanding of hula — than entertaining. The simple chant-with-ipu format retains a sense of formality and instruction, but this results in an underlying sameness to the process. Still, this is an aural primer, if you will, suggesting how chants and mele are the foundation of hula ... fostering knowledge and artistry in the process. Our take: If you're a green hula prospect or even a seasoned vet, there's something to be learned from this one.
"Kapi'olani" - Kulia i ka Punawai Various artists (Daniel Ho Creations) Daniel Ho has made history as the Grammy Award-winning producer of two economically packaged "live" compilation albums. He gives back to Hawaii here with this thoroughly annotated collection of 19th-century chants written in honor of Queen Kapi'olani. Kulia i ka Punawai, an association of hula halau in Southern California, honored Kalakaua with its first compilation album of historic chants last year. This one is produced to the same high standards, and in some respects it is even more important. Kalakaua has long been recognized as an accomplished songwriter as well as a staunch defender of Hawaiian culture. "Kapi'olani" reminds us that she, too, played an important role in the social and cultural life of Hawaii. One set of eight chants -- known collectively as "He Lei No Ka Mo'i Wahine Kapi'olani" -- dates from Kalakaua's coronation in 1883. Two shorter sets of chants commemorate royal visits to Waimanalo and Kaua'i. All are noteworthy. Although this album will appeal primarily to students of hula and chant, its historical significance makes it worthy of a place in any collection of Hawaiian music. |
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| Album Notes
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| Queen Kapi´olani (1834 - 1899) To modern Hawai´i residents, Kapi´olani is the name of a boulevard, a park at the foot of Diamond Head, a Waikiki hotel across from the park, and one of Honolulu's leading medical centers. To students of Hawaiian history, Kapi´olani was the wife of King David Kalakaua, who ruled the kingdom from1874-1891. To haumana hula (hula students), Kapi´olani is both a haku mele (poet) and a recipient of numerous mele that honor her. In 2006, Kulia i ka Punawai (Kumu Hula Association of Southern California) presented its second collaborative concert production in Los Angeles, titled “He Lei No Kapi´olani.” (A Lei For Kapi´olani). Our lei was made up of mele for her, associated with her, and by her, many of which are presented in this recording. Our lei in both the 2006 concert and in this recording is a ho´okupu to this beloved Hawaiian Queen, so that our children will know why she is so reverently remembered in mele and hula. Biography As the wife of King Kalakaua, Queen Kapi´olani occupied a prominent position in the social life at ´Iolani Palace. Like her husband and his siblings, Queen Kapi´olani was a poet and songwriter. She contributed to collaborative sets of mele, particularly to those honoring her husband’s niece, the beloved Princess Ka´iulani. Queen Kapi´olani’s sisters, the Princesses Kinoiki Kekaulike and Virginia Po´omaikelani, were among a circle of ladies who composed several prominent sets of mele, one of which, “He Lei No Ka Mo´i Wahine Kapi´olani" is a cornerstone in the repertoire of the contemporary practice of hula kahiko—hula in the indigenous performance style. Throughout King Kalakaua's reign, Queen Kapi´olani traveled frequently throughout the kingdom. She took as her kuleana (responsibility) the welfare of her people. In response to the widespread poverty and suffering of the Hawaiian people and the decimation of the population by introduced diseases, she established the Kapi´olani Maternity Home. Known today as Kapi´olani Medical Center, the institution is renowned for its focus on the wellbeing of women and children. In 1887 Queen Kapi´olani traveled to England with her sister-in-law, the Princess Lili´uokalani, to represent the kingdom at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. Although Queen Kapi´olani spoke English fluently, she insisted on speaking only Hawaiian while abroad, and members of her party served as translators. In addition to four songs composed by Princess Lili´uokalani commemorating their experiences, at least three published accounts by members of the traveling party provide eyewitness descriptions of the respect and regard accorded to Queen Kapi´olani. Though the mission in England was completed successfully, their trip was cut short upon receiving news of the constitutional crisis known as the “Bayonet Constitution” faced by King Kalakaua, and they hurried home to Hawai´i in July 1887. Queen Kapi´olani lived through the political upheavals that led to the end of the Kingdom in 1898. She passed away on June 24, 1899. Among her effects were numerous ledger books filled with mele. After the death of her heir, her nephew Prince Jonah Kalaniana´ole, Queen Kapi´olani’s priceless manuscripts passed into the care of the Bishop Museum, where they now reside in safekeeping. Mele Queen Kapi´olani is well known among serious students of hula. The legacy of mele passed into the present include many that honor her. Some well known ones have been presented by numerous halau hula in prestigious events and venues. Other mele have been championed by intrepid kumu hula and researchers sharing their discoveries in archival research. Every contribution deepens our understanding of the fluorescence of cultural activity in Kapi´olani's lifetime. One of the many objectives of our project has been to reconnect kumu hula who maintain the skills of performance and choreography with the legacy of mele yet to be brought back to life, out of the archival sources. Queen Kapi´olani's legacy offered a splendid opportunity. The best known mele were originally composed as parts of sets. Bringing these mele back out of the archival sources as sets in their entirety honors the intent of the poets who created these sets as lei. Doing so also honors and celebrates the creativity that flourishes among contemporary kumu hula. Each setting thus represents not only the legacy of heritage that has survived the passage of time, but also the creative vision of each of the participating kumu hula that is indeed the sign of a truly living tradition. "He Lei No Ka Mo´i Wahine Kapi´olani" was performed during the celebration of King Kalakaua's coronation in February 1883. Fragmented knowledge of this set through much of the 20th century was resolved only in the 1990s on examination of one of the personal books of Kapi´olani's younger sister, Princess Po´omaikelani, who was a highly regarded poet, genealogist, and careful documentor of mele of that era. In her book, she recorded seven mele in this set, and annotated the names of the poets in the margins. Participating poets were all women associated with Queen Kapi´olani's circle at court. There is evidence that the lei they were commemorating poetically was an extraordinary necklace that Kapi´olani wore during the coronation ceremony itself on February 12. The whereabouts of the necklace are no longer known, but one photo of Kapi´olani wearing it survives. Although some of the mele in this set are found in other sources that have been the basis for contemporary performances, our presentation is based on the mele as Princess Po´omaikelani recorded them in her personal book. "He Inoa Nu´a Hulu No Ka Mo´i Wahine Kapi´olani" is a set of three mele that commemorate a visit by Queen Kapi´olani to the Waimanalo residence and sugar plantation of John A. Cummins not long after the coronation celebrations in 1883. The publication of this set of three mele in Ka Nupepa Elele on Dec. 25, 1886 suggests that they were performed during celebrations of King Kalakaua's Birthday Jubilee in November 1886. Indeed, this set follows the set of fifteen mele that honor King Kalakaua, and was published one week earlier in the same newspaper. Composition of the set is credited to "Mrs. A. L. K." The mele trace a route of Cummins’ steamship Waimanalo, as it passes Mokumanu islets off of Mokapu peninsula and docks at Waimanalo. Along the way, the mele celebrate residents of Mololani, renowned for featherwork and credited with crafting lei hulu tributes, using feathers presumably gathered at Mokumanu. From the coast, the royal party boards a windowed train for a short ride to Cummins’ residence. “He Inoa No Laulani Koki” is a set of four mele that commemorate a visit by Queen Kapi´olani to Kaua´i in 1889. First published in the newspaper Ko Hawaii Pae Aina on April 19, 1890, the set was reprinted in the newspaper Ka Lei Momi on August 12 and 19, 1893 and again the the Buke Mele Lahui at the end of 1895. The circuit traversed in this set begins at Ha´ena on the north coast, and proceeds counterclockwise around to Nohili in the island’s Kona district, inland and mauka to Alaka´i, and across the channel to Ni´ihau, then back to the Lihu´e area. The association of Kapi´olani with the legendary figure Hali´alaulani forms the titling of the set for “Laulani Koki.” Concert 2006 Queen Kapi´olani was the focus of Kulia i ka Punawai's second concert production, "He Lei No Kapi´olani," staged in Los Angeles in April 2006. Like the historically unprecedented “He Inoa No Kalakaua” concert presented in 2004, the 2006 concert presented the fruits of collaboration among fourteen halau throughout southern California, spanning from Chula Vista to Ventura, with one satellite member from Chicago. Two sets of mele were staged in their entirety by individual halau taking individual mele within sets. Even more venturesome, a third set of mele involved the collaboration of individual kumu hula teaching both inherited and newly-created choreographies to haumana from multiple halau, who then performed side by side onstage as one group. "He Lei No Kapi´olani" was a milestone in two other respects. First, because we presented a set of mele that likened Kapi´olani to a feather lei, all feather leis worn in the concert were handmade by the participating kumu hula and haumana, under the caring guidance of Aunty Clarice Nuhi. Second, to honor Queen Kapi´olani’s preference for her mother tongue, our concert narration was entirely bilingual. The Hawaiian-language narration was lovingly delivered by one of our founding members, Karen Kealoha Finneran-Swatek. At the time of the concert she was three weeks away from completing her B.A. degree in Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai´i in Hilo. Kealoha recorded the Mo´olelo tracks heard here with her completed degree in hand. Recording KAPI´OLANI marks the second recording project undertaken by Kulia i ka Punawai in collaboration with Grammy-award winning Daniel Ho Creations. We are multiply blessed and humbled. Working with esteemed professionals who share our aspiration of fostering greater appreciation of the legacy of hula is a privilege. At the same time we are ever mindful of our kuleana as heirs of the hula tradition engaged in the stewardship of its future. Engaging with the legacy of mele for Queen Kapi´olani has been a journey propelled by our organization's name—to strive for the wellsprings of tradition, kulia i ka punawai. |
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| The Performers
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| Na Kumu Hula: Kanoe Barker, Halau Ka Pa Hula O Hi´iaka, San Pedro Keali´i Ceballos, Halau O Keali´i O Nalani, Los Angeles Randy Chang, Kaulana Ka Hale Kula O Na Pua O Ka ´Aina, Torrance Puanani Edgar, Hula Halau O Puananiha´aheo, Ventura Barbara Finneran & Karen Kealoha Finneran-Swatek, Pualani’s Hula Studio, Rancho Penasquitos Puanani Jung, Halau Hula Lani Ola, Mission Viejo Sissy & Pele Kaio, Halau O Lilinoe and Na Pua Me Kealoha, Carson Kanani Kalama, Kanani Kalama Hula Studio, Torrance Lanialoha Lee, Kupa´a Pacific Island Resources, Chicago Kunewa Mook, Hula Halau O Kamuela ´Elua, Burbank Clarice Wahineali´i Nuhi & Susan Ke´oluokoumino´aka Imai, Halau Ka Pa Hula O Wahineali´i, Carson Nona Oshiro, ´Ote´a Polynesian; Papa Hi´ikua, Halau Mohala ´Ilima Kathy Gore Stanley, Halau O Heali´i, San Diego Kawika & Leinani Viloria, Halau Hula a Kawika Laua ´O Leinani, Diamond Bar Kehaulani Wilson, Napua ´Ilima O Kehaulani, Chula Vista Kekaimoku Yoshikawa, Kekaiulu Hula Studio, Torrance Amy Ku´uleialoha Stillman, Facilitator Kulia i ka Punawai (Kumu Hula Association of Southern California) Kulia i ka Punawai is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the perpetuation of hula and professionalism in hula practice. Members are kumu hula of halau hula—hula schools that span southern California from Ventura to Chula Vista. The organization fosters unity among the kumu hula, and a mentoring network. The Association’s four-fold mission—of maintaining the foundations of hula, perpetuating hula in unity, developing professionalism, and strengthening knowledge and understanding of hula—infuses its various activities. Workshops held during quarterly gatherings focus on educational activities that enhance members’ knowledge base of hula. Performance presentations are opportunities for students from different halau to expand their experiences through sharing repertoire, and through performing in a wide range of theater and festival venues. To date Kulia i ka Punawai has produced two collaborative concerts, “He Inoa No Kalakaua” in April 2004, and “He Lei No Kapi´olani” in April 2006. In Memoriam Aunty Clarice Wahineali´i Nuhi brought the vision of a kumu hula gathering to life in November 1997. She left this world just weeks before the "He Lei No Kapi´olani" concert. He kumu hiwahiwa i poina ´ole ´ia. |
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| Credits
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Record Label: Daniel Ho Creations Recorded: June-July 2006 and May 2007 Release Date: September 2007 |
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