HI-FOOTSTEPS-L Archives

Archiver > HI-FOOTSTEPS > 2007-01 > 1169773579


From: "Maggie Stewart" <>
Subject: [HI-FOOTSTEPS] Fw: Keepers of the Culture -Queen Lili'uokalani andHer Music - Part 4
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:06:19 -0500


----- Original Message -----
From: "Darlene & Kathi kelley" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 6:27 PM
Subject: Keepers of the Culture -Queen Lili'uokalani and Her Music



Contributed for use in
USGeWeb Archives
by Darlene E. Kelley
January 12, 2007.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Historical Collections of Hawai'i
Keepers of the Culture
Queen Lili'ukalani and her Music
Part 4- Regency and Respnsibility
The beginning of the Troubled Years.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Part 4.

Lili'uokalani had not been engaged in much composition before 1885 as
she had other demands on her time and energy. She initiated and took an
active part in several benvolent and educational organizations and
demostrated particular concern for the education of young girls. During
the first part of the decade, she was also involved in buildng a new
home in Kapalama, which she named Mu'olaulani. Opened with a gala party
in May 1885, the Kapalama house was a source of great joy to her and
became the subject of the song " Nohea I Mu'olaulani " ( Lovely at
Mu'olaulani ).

Also, in 1885 and 1886 many references appear in Lili'uokalani's diaries
to someone cryptically alluded to as " my friend." The identity of the
individual has never become public knowledge, though at one juncture she
" came very near parting with my dearest friend on account of
tattlers." Allen suggests that the friend was band director Henry
Berger. Perhaps it was, as the band's performances are faithfully noted
in her diaries, and she attended as many as she could. The Band's
regular participation in the events of the court, included interisland
trips, brought the two together often and they shared a love of music.
Whatever the nature of their relationship, it is clear that Berger
arranged some of her music. notably " Aloha 'Oe," and she admired his
professional abilities.

Despite any extramarital involvements, Lili'uokalani and her husband
evidently extended a cordial regard for one another and, though they
were living in separate residences, they continued to appear together.
Family relationships were paramount for Lili'uokalani. The death of her
sister Likelike in early 1887 cast such a pall over her spirits that it
affected her health. Though they had grown up separately, the two women
had become close in later years and wrote six songs together.

Singing clubs featured prominently in Likelike's funeral service,
interment, and memorial ceremonies, but apparently the loss that
Lili'uokalani felt did not lend itself to musical expression. Her grief
was assuaged somewhat in April by Kalakaua's unexpected invitation for
her to accompany his wife, Queen Kapi'olani, to London to represent the
Kingdom at celebrations marking the fiftieth year of Queen Victoria's
reign. The traveling party, which her husband, John, joined as well,
made numerous stops en route, including visits to Boston, where
Lili'uokalani met John's family and attended an operetta, and to
Washington, where the group dined with President Grover Cleveland. These
events lifted her mood conspiciously, and during the crossing to
England, her creative energies again began to stir. In later describing
the ocean passage, she noted, " It was interesting to see the different
moods by which each person sought to pass away the time; to me it was
natural to turn to musc, my usual solace in either happy or sad moments,
so I composed songs, one of which certainly was written in anticipation
of meeting in the person of the good queen all that was greatest and
noblest in a woman sovereign."

Lili'uokalani was not disappointed. She found much to admire in English
pomp and circumstance and was delighted with the reception she received
from Queen Victoria. Her excitement over the jubilee is reflected in the
five songs that survived from the trip. " The Queen's Jubilee." dated
one day before the anniversary was marked at Westminister Abbey, is an
unabashed paean to that " Fair Queen who rul'st o'er land and sea/ From
Northern seas to Southern shores." at the other end of the emotional
spectrum is
" Ka Huna Kai " ( The Sea Spray ), also written in London, but
expressing a fond longing for Hawai'i. The latter composition is among
several songs in her body of work that Lili'uokalani identified as hula
ku'i, a genre of music and dance that joined steps from ancient hula
with new forms from the hula revival then in progress.

In the course of their return trip, the travelers received news that the
monarch they had left at home was faring much worse than the one they
had visited. Kalakaua had been forced to accept a new constitution
practically at gunpont, an episode that earned the document the name
Bayonet Constitution. The gravity of the situation was confirmed when
the party arrived in Honolulu. The power of the throne had been sharply
curtailed, leaving the monarch as little more than a ceremonial figure,
and many Hawaiians were aggrieved by the change. For the next decade,
the city would be fraught with political battles --- and sometimes
shooting battles -- as Hawaiian and haole interests vied for control,
and the future queen was undoubtedly an interested participant in those
developments. As early as 1887, some people suggested that the time had
come for her, as heir apparent, to take the throne. In 1889,a plan for
an armed attempt to restore power to the crown was hatched at
Mu'olaulani by Robert W. Wilcox, a young Hawaiian patriot whom
Lili'uokalani had taken under her wing.

Under those circumstances, Lili'uokalani naturally would have been
preoccupoed with politics, and the music would again fall silent. In the
next seven years, as far as can be determined, she finished only two
compositions, along with a few translations or variants of earlier
songs. She had not forgotten her musical interests, though, as was made
plain in 1889 when she charged Charles B. Wilson, a member of her staff,
with the task of obtaining copywrights for her work.
Many Hawaiians composers, less careful or less informed, lost control of
their songs by sharing them in the oral traditions without filing
copywrites.

The close of the decade brought the death of aged Mary Dominis and the
return of Lili'uokalani to Washington Place from Mu'olaulani, John, too,
was in failing health, and she felt moved to spend a good deal of time
nursing him. She may also have felt, in those troubled years, a desire
to be close to the palace.

Much beleaguered Kalakaua named Lili'uokalani regent in November 1890
and sailed for San Francisco on a mission variously described as
political or health-related. He died there early in the new year, and on
January 20, 1891, the throne passed to fifty-three year old
Lili'uokalani. From the start, the new monarch chief at the figurehead
role to which the Bayonet Constitution regulated her. In March, her
hanai brother-in-law, Charles R. Bishop wrote her," You will live longer
and happier and be more popular by not trying to do too much."
This was sage advice, but the Queen would follow her own counsel and
contend throughout her reign with the forces of American business, which
were tightening their grip on power in the Islands.

The burdens of office left Lili'uokalani little time for personal life,
though few significant events occurred in that sphere apart from the
death of her husband, in August 1891. When she paused for music, it was
invariably as a member of an audience. She attended as many musical
events as she could, however -- recitals, operas, and concerts -- and
continued as a staunch supporter of the Royal Hawaiia Band.

Her devotion and contribution to the musical life of the community was
publically recognozed in 1892, when
" a group of Honolulu music lovers " presented her with a handsome grand
piano built in New York by Fisher and made largely of Hawaiian Koa. A
few friends were invited to 'Iolani Palace in April to try out the piano
and sing, and its arrival was formally celebrated a month later with a
brilliant musicale attended by 150 guests. The program included several
numbers by the Royal Hawaiian Band, one of which was a composition by
the Queen; choral selections by two church choirs, a vocal trio with a
chorus of boys; and duo piano pieces and songs, some with violin
obbligato.

Though immersed in the political jockeying that would cultimate with her
overthrow in January 1893, the Queen
remained faithful to her musical interests. Her diary for 1892 mentions
several balls, including one in July where " the minuet was danced for
the first time." and in that turbulent year Lili'uokalani apparently
prepared some music for publication for on August 17 she noted, " sent
my music by mail all corrected. "

After being toppled from power in the coup of January 17, 1893,
Lili'uokalani waged earnest campaign for the return of the Kingdom, and
without the usual day-to-day duties of governing, she undoubtedly had
more time for music. Instead of embarking on new songs, she continued
her work of putting her past compositions in order. " They were a
hundred in all -- still there must have bee more," she noted in her
diary entry of March 13, 1893. "Left Waikiki at five P.M"
the entry continues; " spent the evening on the back veranda listening
to Portuguese band of the P.G. [ Provis.ional Government ]"

Two days later. another diary entry indicates that she had withdrawn
songs from consideration by a local publisher:
" Told Mr. Robertson to bring my music away from the Hawaiian News Co."
This probably was the group of compositions she had mailed " all
corrected " a little more than half a year before. A diary entry the
following month notes an order for 250 copies of " Aloha 'Oe" and " He
Mele Lahui Hawai'i, " which had been published previously by another
firm.

Though the Queen may have been composing during that period, her next
dated work appeared in 1895, the year when she was confined for eight
months to a three room apartment in 'Iolani Palace for her alleged
knowledge of counterrevolution attempted by Robert Wilcox and others of
her supporters. Recalling the incarceration some years later she wrote:

" Though I was still not allowed to have newspapers or general
literature to read, writing paper and lead pencils were not denied; and
I was thereby able to write music, after drawing for myself the lines of
the staff.

At first I had no instrument, and had to transcribe the notes by voice
alone; but I found, notwithstanding disavantges, great consolation in
composing, and transcribed a number of songs. Three found their way from
my prison to the city of Chicago, where they were printed, among them
the
" Aloha 'Oe," or " Farewell to Thee,"which became a very popular song.

This statement is probably the source of the erroneous idea that " Aloha
'Oe " was composed while lilu'okalani was imprisioned. However, did not
hurt the popularity of the composition, as it became very popular during
this time period.

The Queen settled into a daily routine that began with devotions, flower
arranging, and a morning inspection by the officer of the day.
Afterward, she might crochet, sew and quilt, read, amuse herself with
her canaries, practice her autoharp and guitar, or compose. This
interval of forced leisure resulted in seven songs, of which four were
finished in rapid succession in March. " He Inoa Wehi No Kalaniana'ole "
( A Name Adornment For Kalaniana'ole ), honoring her young nephew Jonal
Kuhio Kalaniana'ole; " Ku'u Pua I Paoakalani "
( My Flower at Paoakalani ); " Kili'oulani "
( Fine Rain of the Heavenly Pinnacle ); and " Ke Aloha O Ka Haku " (
published as " Lili'uokalani's Prayer" with the Hawaiian title and
English translation
" The Lord's Mercy " below ) now commonly called " The Queen's Prayer."

The fact that she next turned to religious
subject matter in her music is entirely consistant with her background
and her predicament. She had not been a regular church goer for many
years. in part because she deplored the political opinions from the
pulpit. Yet she was religious both by nature and by training, and as she
had demonstrated in her national anthem and in the funeral chant for
Bernice Pauahi, she was confortable composing in ecclesiastical
language. Three more religious songs are dated June 1895: " Leha 'Ku
Koa Mau Maka"
( Lift Up Your Eyes ), based on Psalm 121; " E Ku'u Ho'ola " ( My
Saviour ); and
" Himeni Ho'ole'a A Davida " ( David's Hymn of Praise ), from Psalm
126.

On Septemebr 6, 1895, Lili'uokalani was released from imprisonment and
placed on parole, enabling her to return home to Washington Place, where
the trees, shrubs, and flowers " had never to me looked so charming. How
I ejoyed their welcome ! Surely they could not have been so beautiful
when I saw them daily in previous years ! The Republic of Hawai'i moved
Lili'uokalani one step closer to freedom on February 6, 1896, when it
released her from parole. She still was not permitted to leave O'ahu but
at least could travel to her properties elsewhere on the island.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Continued in Part 5.

This thread: