MELE 'AILANA / island music

Mānoa Voices was nomminated for Most Promising Artist at the 2009 Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards. - Courtesy photos

By Francine Murray / Ka Wai Ola

They share a passion for Hawaiian music, and if you do too, you've got to check out Mānoa Voices, a group of University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Ensemble class students who used to kani ka pila with their teaching assistant Chadwick Pang. Impressed, a listener advised them to record their talents; instead, they entered the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame's 2007 Ka Himeni Ana, an annual unamplified Hawaiian Music contest dedicated to the perpetuation of old-fashioned Hawaiian music without microphones.

Mānoa Voices stole the show with their gentle manner and sweet melodious voices, winning a recording contract with Hula Records.

Mānoa Voices Mānoa Voices Hula Records

They went on to record this self-titled CD and were nominated for Most Promising Artist at the 32nd annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards. They didn't take the prize, but with their smooth effortless harmonizing, these perfectly tempered voices are as natural as birds with their nahenahe style.

This CD starts delightfully playful with "E Nani E," composed by Gertrude Ka'ahapu and arranged by Pang.

"Palisa" is of a voyage in a hot-air balloon over Paris. The tender "Pua Mae'ole" by John "Squeeze" Kamana describes his love for his daughter. Sophronia Smith authored and sings the heartfelt "Te Atairangikaahu" for the inspirational Māori Queen. She also resonates beautifully with a bit of jazz in "Beneath the Māori Moon" by her great-great-granduncle, Walter Smith. The sentimental voice of Rosanna Perch will leave a mark with the heightened passion of her voice in "Manu 'Ō'ō." A couple of exquisite classics by Lena Machado are featured, "U'ilani" and " Aloha Nō."

The magical ending, "Ho'onani Ka Makua Mau," The Doxology by Louis Bourgeois, includes the second verse composed by Haunani Bernardino in 2005. They pay homage by singing the original verse traditionally, and then switch it up in the second verse, contemporary choral style. Pang describes it best, "When we sing about the stars, all the voices ascend to a single note. When we sing about the splendors of the universe, all the voices cascade down into colorful harmonies."

Available at HulaRecords.com and most fine music stores. For information and to listen to a demo, visit ManoaVoices.com.