The Song We Never Hear

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 42, 26 April 1935, Page 7

The Song We Never Hear

by

Margaret

Macpherson

PELE we "Listen ‘enraptured to "the Hawaiian guitar wailing its '" wistful’ melodies ("exactly like a ‘sick kitten," as my littlé boy used to say of it), how may of us realise that we are listening to a ‘cleverly faked New York product which hag ‘ag much relation ‘to rea! Island tausic ‘as thy ‘reader has to the ‘Grand Turk? The old traditional twits of: Hawaii are few and far between, ‘all the "Island" recordings we hear are but sickly imitations of something that has been murdered and perverted by civilisation.

the aficlent melodies of the y Maort, too, have suffered. an eclipse under cleyér scoring; they are recorded and. broadcast all over the world, ‘but ‘the soft sweet sounds of the 6riginal-‘musie are lost i in the din "of the world’s orchestras and -jazz-bands, . ~~ ~ There -is, however, still a gong we never hear, a serene and happy’-lilt that is as old-as Eve and as spontaneous-as a bird’s call,.a real song of the Islands, not artificially. con. cocted jn New York,.. but. handed. down.-from generation to. generation in the lovely: Islands of.the immediate Southern Seas--Tonga, Samoa and fiji. With the exception of the "Fijlan’ Farewell" this sun-soaked musi¢ is as yet"nnrecotd: ed... The only way to. hear it is to go there, : -In -the winter, fashionable Hngiand repairs its health by* getting: -a coat: of. suntan on the Mediterranean coast ‘Pale-faced society girls. go to Nice or to the West Indies to ecuperate; > This health-saving nabit is not yet as fashiounable ti New .Zealand as it will become in time, though ow" "upper ten" do to some extent patronise the Riviera-of the South Seas-the Islands. ‘These people usually return with. unvest in their héarts and wonder in their eyes. They have had-a glimpse of paradise and cannot forget it. :; Tonga. is perhaps the loveliest and. most unusial Of all." It is.a-mixture-of fairyland and. comic opera. Here"growsthe famoys ironwood tree with its foliage as fine -s -aspara gus fern, here. are the coconut palms; with their. .starry crowns. of feathery fronds ten to-fifteen feet long tossing eighty. feet or..more up-in the. air on their slender trunks gracefyl. and resilient: as a steel:spear. Capitalism ha§ nevei’ magle.a cinder heap or slave settlement of Tonga -Here-they. find .grass q..soft- carpet to. walk on, ‘so the streets "re "pan. . ed". swith short -STASsS-A . most: comforting arrangement ‘to city, feet... So. much of Tonga. is. fairyland. Now forthe comic opera aspert... case tt oe .

The Queen of Longa has a white domed palace gleaming ‘in- the- sun -on’the-sea-beach at Nukualofa. Pillav's and towers reflect the: dazzling sunlight. "White alabastet!"" one gasps. But no. -It is not even marble. Upon elose inspec: . Lion.it. proves. to be painted-wood,. The effect of stage.scen ery-is complete when the ‘Tongan army comes into viewa handful of brown-faced soldiery wearing the scarlet coats and black trousers of the Victorian eta’ The Tongans ‘ot -the old days had. two. rulers--an earthly king wha did all the governing and a heavenly king who was worshipped as _ god, These worked amicably side by side, and nu doub! played up to each other when expediency demanded. Natur "ally, therefore, the Chapel Royal stands beside the King’s Palace on the beach. Here there is‘a‘fine native choir, which las a wide repertoire, from:Handel’s "Hallelujah Chorus" to the Tongan National Anthem, a fine dignified piece which any nation might be. proud of, Tongan voices are rather like Maori voices-deep, rich and powerful. The old heredi‘tary instrument of the place is, of course, the little wooden guitar, almost like a ukulele; but the new nationa! instrument is... guess? But-you never will . the mouth-orgin ! This the Tongans play as it is played in no other land The women of Tonga have exceedingly fine. figures. ‘They are not forced te work, ‘as are the women of the other islands. The men say it makes a womari ugly te work all day in the sun. They prefer beauty to: monetary gain, a most ~endearing trait in the Tongan-character... Flenee the bouvy serene countenance of the girl of this blest Island, the noble upright carriage. the anhurried dignity and charm of their ' demeanour. oom Phe "sights of: this [sland ale unusual in-the extreme "and are not duplicated anywhere else on-earth.. Foer-instance there.is the Grove of Bats.: This is*a group of twenty cor thirty large trees, each of which is covered wit. flying toxes (Coutinued on page 51.)

Tonga’s Unheard Song

(Continued from page 7.) almost as thickly as gooseberries on a bush. -These bats are about the size of cats, with furry bodies and .fox-shaped heads. They hang upside down all day, but at night they raid the fruit plantations, doing appalling damage. No one shoots them or murmurs, however. They are sacred-tapu. If one were killed, unutterable doom would fall upon the Island. Another object of interest is Captain Cook’s Tree, a giant avava (this glorious tree is indigenous to the Island and is to be found nowhere else), a splendid specimen. It stands on @& great height overlooking a .beautiful blue lagoon, and is loved and revered by the natives because it was from its ‘projecting roots’ that Captain Cook first addressed them in 1777, offering them presents and assuring them of his friendliness. Amongst his gifts were pigs, the strange high-backed, sharpnosed descendants of which may be seen in the Tongan bush to this day. But the best "sight" of all is really a sound-a Tongan singing party, when the strange sweet melodies of the Islands will charm the ear and leave an unforgettable impression upon the music lover. Some day some enterprising firm will go there and record this music; then New York or Hollywood will "adapt" it, alter and imitate it, until it becomes just another crude commercial commodity. Hear it still, O my reader, while it is still the music of wonder and romance; the Song we Never Hear.