Rongo -Voices of Australasia & Oceania

Featuring: Herb Patten, Nga Manu & Sounds Of Polynesia, Melbourne Millennium Chorus, Lou Bennett & Alice Gate-Eastley, Alfred Harua, Brian Fitzgerald, The Papua New Guinea Dance Group, Sunga, Ria Soemardjo, Rachel Hore, Canterbury Tongan Choir, Dya Singh.

Rongo – Voices of Australasia and Oceania
Review by John Williams

This CD is a live recording of a concert presented at The Melbourne Arts Centre in October 2004 as part of the Melbourne International Festival of Arts.
Rongo is the name of a Polynesian god of song and music and also for bringing rain and making things grow.
This is an appropriate title for this undertaking which unites the Melbourne Millennium Choir with singers and musicians from Java, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Hawaii, India and indigenous and contemporary Australian artists.
The cover notes are excellent.
They are in full colour with lots of photos of the performers and descriptions of the tracks and the stories behind the songs.
Many other performers could take note of the standard set by this cover presentation.
It certainly adds value to the whole package.
The eight tracks by the Melbourne Millennium Choir, under the leadership of Stephen Taberner accompanied by a number of guest artists, is a highlight of the CD.
The choir is beautiful to listen to and they are complemented by the guest artists in each case.
The choral work throughout the CD is beautiful.
You can just feel the swaying palms and the gentle lap of the waves on the shore.
The traditional drumming really gets the heart pounding.
A highlight for me in this area was “The Traditional Cook Island Dance and Drumming” by The Sounds of Polynesia.
I defy you to listen to this and stay sitting down.
Beautiful voices abound on this CD.
Special mention should be made of Ria Soemardjo, Rachel Hore and also Sunga.
These three tracks are simply beautiful to listen to.
The CD finishes with a powerful version of the classic “My Island Home” performed by all the artists.
You can only imagine how powerful it must have been to be present in the hall.
If you have an interest in this area of music you will love this CD.