Musings On A Maori Lullaby

The subject of these musings, "Hine e Hine", is a simple but tender lullaby written in New Zealand by Fanny Rose Howie, 1868-1916. Renaming herself Princess Te Rangi Pai after her Maori mother, she enjoyed a successful singing career in England for several years until, with failing health, she returned to New Zealand.

Her family life having disintegrated, she spent her last years living in isolation writing songs, the most famous of which is "Hine e Hine". As accompanist to my soprano wife, I have performed "Hine e Hine" many times, and my "Musings" are written both in fond memory of time spent living and working in New Zealand, and as a gift of gratitude to the dedicatee, Margaret Harper, who played the harp so beautifully in my concerts in Rotorua.