Donald Johanos - Haleakala: How Maui Snared the Sun - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Dan Welcher, a professor at the University of Texas, composed Haleakala How Maui Snared the Sun in 1991, when he was composer-in-residence at the Honolulu Symphony. The text, by Ann McCutchan, is drawn on a Polynesian folktale that sketches an origin for the seasons (yes, they do have them in Hawaii). Welcher's music, beginning with a Copland-esque vocabulary, follows the text closely but has convincing arcs of it's own; it is not a film soundtrack. Hawaiian percussion and bits of melody are employed. The story centers on a youthful trickster god named Maui, whose namesake is presumably one of the present Hawaiian islands. The narrator is none other than actor Richard Chamberlain. Album Tracks 1. Haleakala How Maui Snared the Sun (Tone Poem) 2. Light Coming on the Plains 3. Canyon with Crows 4. Starlight Night 5. Very Fast-Slowly-Dancing 6. Blues and Toccata (On the Name 'Benny Goodman')