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Rose Publications (The Rose Ensemble)
Ponomau
DALSTON, Aaron Williams (1731–1776)
A rousing hymn of gathering and dedication.
SATB a cappella
With its fanfare-like opening and gradually building texture, this piece would be a simple but effective opener. While the Hawaiian text bears some thematic similarities to Isaac Watts’ text “The Lord Jehovah Reigns”—usually set to this tune—it is not a strict translation. The score contains source information, historical context, editorial notes, performance suggestions, and a translation above the staff. A brief Hawaiian diction guide is included.
Composer’s Notes
When the brig Thaddeus first arrived in Hawaiian waters in April 1820 carrying the Pioneer Company of the Sandwich Islands Mission, members of the company sang several psalms and hymns for the Hawaiian Royal party. Liholiho—King Kamehameha II (1797-1824)—was apparently pleased. By 1823 the Hawaiians had advanced well enough in hymn singing and in reading the Hawaiian language to warrant a printed hymnal. In that year, the mission press put out the first hymnbook in Hawaiian: Na Himeni Hawaii: He Me Ori Ia Jehova, Ke Akua Mau (“Hawaiian Hymns and Songs to Jehovah, the Eternal God”). The publication of Na Himeni Hawaii helped to widely promote the practice of hymn singing.
In 1834, hymn singing reached a new stage of sophistication when the great missionary Hiram Bingham (Binamu) published the first Hawaiian hymnal containing musical notation and even explicit instructions in both singing and reading music.
The hymn tunes used in the early Hawaiian hymnals were not composed in Hawaiʻi, but mostly of British and American origin. These were well-known and loved by the Calvinist missionaries, many of whom were well-educated in music and active in the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston.
Text
1. ʻAuhea ka pono mau,
I pono ai kākou?
ʻAuhea ka pono e ola ai?
E ʻimi pū kākou,
I ke Akua mau,
E pau nā akua wahaheʻe.
2. Na Iesu i hoʻopau,
Kōʻonei mau kiʻi laʻau;
Pau pū nā kapu o lākou:
I keia wā maikaʻi,
Lohe a ke kānāwai
O ke Akua ola mau.
3. Eia ka pono mau,
No kō ke ao ā pau,
Kō Iesu pono e ola ai:
E lele pau kākou,
Ma muli ona no,
Ma laila mau e malu ai.
4. He alanui hou,
E hele ai kākou,
A hiki loa i ke ao:
Hoʻomana! Hoʻo maikaʻi!
Iehova ka Mōʻī,
Ke Akua pono ola mau.
Where is the eternal righteousness
that saves us?
Where is the life-giving righteousness?
Let us all seek
the eternal God
to put an end to false gods.
Jesus will put an end
to these idols,
together with their laws.
In this good time
we shall hear the laws
of the living God.
Here is the righteousness
for the whole world–
Jesus saves.
Let us fly
after him,
for there is eternal peace.
-Author Unknown
ed. Amy Kuʻuleialoha Stillman
$1.95 per licensed PDF
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