Tama Ngakau Marie Invention

This composition was inspired by the traditional song Tama Ngakau Marie (Son of a Peaceful Heart), a hymn which is often sung in New Zealand. The song text is a prayer for the forgiveness of sins, a plea for God’s love and acceptance into paradise.

The closing hymn verse offers an insight into the intended feeling of the piece:-

This is where we wish to be led to a good end,
overcoming darkness
and attaining paradise.

Overall the piece has a gentle, floating characteristic expressing love, beauty and respect, also with a sense of yearning. The first page presents fragments of the original song melody with occasional dischordant harmonies suggestive of lingering doubt and fears. More foreward movement is gradually introduced at section B which becomes fully established at C. The closing harmonics are symbolic of arrival in paradise.

Performance Notes

The guitar is tuned in altered dropped-d tuning as follows:

1 = E nat 2 = C nat 3 = G nat 4 = E nat 5 = A nat 6 = D nat