Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3240183 in Books
• Published on: 1996-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 418 pages

Customer Reviews

A lifetime study; informative, thorough and easy-to-read.
This is a study of ancient Maori musical tradition and knowledge, and an exploration of the impact of European music on this tradition. It draws on diverse written and oral sources, and includes some 1300 recorded songs, interviews with singers and numerous eyewitness accounts.

McLean went all over New Zealand with a Grundig tape recorder in the 1950s and recorded over 800 tribal songs. He seems to have spent the next 40 years analysing those tapes and building on the knowledge he gained.

There are lots of interesting anecdotes as well as musicological information. It is well illustrated with many musical examples. 480 pages.

Mervyn McLean was until recently an associate professor of Ethnomusicology and head of the Archive of Maori and Pacific Music at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.