Charles K. L. Davis Mele Hawai‘i is about the music of Hawai‘i and its reflection on the island's culture and its people.

One reflection mirrors the songs of Hawai‘i, derived from the early missionary hymn tunes called himeni.

From the Westminster Abbey of the Pacific, Kawaiha‘o Church, we hear the early himeni first with a blessing from its pastor, Reverend Abraham Akaka.

Reverend Abraham Akaka  Let us receive the benediction.

[Praying in Hawaiian] The Lord, bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace now and forevermore.

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.

The Lord our God, is one Lord.

Amen.

Charles K. L. Davis The beautiful hymn music, with its harmonies and melodies, naturally influenced island compositions.

And not only did the Hawaiians learn how to compose new music, but their magnificent voices blended perfectly with their natural spirit and feelings to make any hymn truly Hawaiian.

Such is Nani Ke ‘Li‘i Ki‘eki‘e, Glory To God In The Highest.

[singing   Nani Ke ‘Li‘i Ki‘eki‘e] Nani, nani, nani, nani, Nani e ke ‘Liʻi, ke ‘Liʻi!

Nani, nani, nani, nani, Nani e ke ‘Liʻi mau Nani ke ‘Liʻi ki‘eki‘e!

Nani ke ‘Liʻi!

Nani ke ‘Liʻi!

Nani ke ‘Liʻi kiʻeki‘e!

ʻO ia ke mele nei Akāka kona aloha ē Me kona hoʻopōmaikaʻi mai Ala aʻe, hoʻōho ʻoli aʻe I ke ‘Liʻi nui e ola ai Nani ke ‘Liʻi kiʻeiʻe!

Nani ke ‘Liʻi kiʻeiʻe!

Nani, nani, nani, nani, Nani e ke ‘Liʻi, ke ‘Liʻi!

Nani, nani, nani, nani, Nani e ke ‘Liʻi mau Charles K. L. Davis  The missionary arrival in 1820 brought a major change in the religious thought to Hawai‘i, the birth of Christianity.

It all began when Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻiaia, having been sent to school in Connecticut, became the first Hawaiian Christian.

Upon his untimely death, his wish that Christianity be brought to the islands came true when a band of missionaries set sail from Boston to the then Sandwich Islands.

Upon their arrival here in April of 1820 on the brig Thaddeus, its leader was Hiram Bingham, founder of Kawaiha‘o Church and one of the first translators of hymns into Hawaiian.

[singing Hoʻonani   I Ka Makua Mau] Hoʻonani i ka Makua mau Ke Keiki me ka ʻUhane nō Ke Akua mau, hoʻomaikaʻi pū Ko kēia ao ko kēlā ao.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

ʻĀmene Charles K. L. Davis In 1832, Reverend Lorenzo Lyons, affectionately known as Makua Laiana, arrived in Waimea, Hawai‘i to begin his mission at Imiola Church.

A poet and linguist at heart, he spent over 40 years translating hymns into Hawaiian and compiling them into hymnals.

Having a wonderful mastery of the Hawaiian language, his translations are gems of poetic expression, especially his moving translation of the beloved hymn Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.

Reverend Lyons, sometimes called "poet of the mountain country," was once invited to become pastor of Kawaiahaʻo Church, where today the historical Kawaiahaʻo Fountain marks the site of a sacred spring once used for bathing by the Ali‘is.

Among them, Ali‘i Ha‘o, after which the spring and the church were named.

[singing Saviour,   Like a Shepherd Lead Us in Hawaiian]  Eia makou ka ‘ohana Ke ho‘olohe a hahai E aloha, e aloha Alaka‘i a hanai mai Mai ho‘oku‘u i kou ‘ohana ‘O ‘auwana io i‘a ne‘i Ma na wahi ho‘ohihia Ma na waonahele e E aloha, e aloha Ho‘opa‘a makou pa maika‘i Charles K. L. Davis  To Reverend Lyons, Hawaiian was a grand, sonorous, poetic language.

The poetry of the language, combined with the magnificent voices of the Hawaiians and the melodies of the hymns, created its own ambience in the churches of the islands.

While the missionary hymns influenced the music, the missionaries themselves also influenced the island architecture, bringing to Hawai‘i plans of New England churches with their hard pews and simple exterior designs.

These historic churches, Kawaiahaʻo, Kaumakapili, Ka Makua Mau Loa in Halawa Valley and Central Union, are only a few of the many which live in tribute to the birth of Christianity and to the inspirational hymns which became Hawaiian in feeling and interpretation.

At Central Union Church, a multiracial blend of Hawai‘i youth, the Hawai‘i Youth Chorale, under the direction of Roy Hallman, express their thoughts in the feeling of their for their Hawaiian heritage and for their religion, by their moving interpretation of "e ko makou makua i loko o ka lani," the Lord's Prayer.

[singing   The   Lord's Prayer in Hawaiian] E kō mākou Makua i loko o ka lani E ho‘āno ‘ia Kou inoa E hiki mai Kou aupuni E mālama ‘ia Kou makemake ma ka honua nei Eia kou ma lani la E hā‘awi mai i kēia lā, i ‘ai na mākou E kala mai ho‘i iā mākou lawehala ‘ana Me mākou e kala nei i ka po‘e i lawehala i ka mākou Mai ho‘oku‘u ‘oe iā mākou i ka ho‘owalewale ‘ia mai E ho‘opakele nō na‘e iā mākou i ka ‘ino No ka mea, Nou ke aupuni, a me ka mana A me ka ho‘onani ‘ia ā mau loa aku ʻĀmene No ka mea nou ke aupuni a me ka mana A me ka ho‘onani ‘ia a mau loa aku ʻĀmene ʻĀmene Charles K. L. Davis  An eminent authority on hymns and their influence upon Hawaiian music is Martha Poepoe Hohu, chairman of the committee   which compiled Hawaiian hymns for the new hymnal Na Himeni Haipule Hawai‘i.

Martha Poepoe Hohu Hawaiian singing is an important part in the life of our people.

It's always been their life, as it were, and it still is.

In our work with the new hymnal, we found many, many interesting things.

One of it was the facet that we learned that the teaching technique used by the missionaries was the use of applying scriptural verses to hymn to songs that they had composed, and it seemed that it was an easier way for the natives to learn the lesson.

And all of this, of course, has come down to us today, and we still sing many, many of these songs that were sung a long time ago.

I am very grateful to the people that lived a long time ago and made their expression through the hymns that we can sing today and which has become a part of our life today.

Charles K. L. Davis  Hymns not only gave birth to song, but they were the musical foundation for the composition of popular Hawaiian tunes such as Kaleleonālani, a song written about Queen Emma.

Performed by the Hui Manawale‘a singers from Kaumakapili Church, Kaleleonālani comes from the hymn At The Cross.

[singing At The Cross] At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!

Kaleleonālani kou inoa A he hiwahiwa ʻoe na ka lāhui A he lani ʻoia la no ʻoukou A he milimili hoʻi na mākou Welo ana e ka hae Hawaiʻi  Hāliʻi lua i ka ʻili kai E haʻi mai ana i ka lono Ke kuini Emalani ko luna Kaleleonālani kou inoa A he hiwahiwa ʻoe na ka lāhui A he lani ʻoia la no ʻoukou A he milimili hoʻi na mākou A waho o na nalu o Kōlea ʻIke ʻia i ka nani o Kahului ʻAʻohe mea nani ʻole o laila Ua nuʻa ka lehua ʻau i ke kai Kaleleonālani kou inoa A he hiwahiwa ʻoe na ka lāhui A he lani ʻoia la no ʻoukou A he milimili hoʻi na mākou Charles K. L. Davis Originally a chant with lyrics set to the hymn tune Would I Were With Thee, Makalapua was written in honor of Hawai‘i's last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani.

Often performed today with the graceful accompaniment of the hula, Makalapua means profuse blossoms.

[singing Would I Were With Thee] Would I were with Thee every day and hour, Which now I pass so sadly for from Thee;  Would that my form possessed the magic power To follow where my heavy heart would be Whate'er thy lot o'er land o'er sea Would I were with Thee eternally ʻO Makalapua ulumāhiehie ʻO ka lei o Kamakaʻeha No Kamakaʻeha ka lei na Liʻawahine Nā wāhine kīhene pua E lei hoʻi, e Liliʻulani ē E lei hoʻi, e Liliʻulani ē Haʻihaʻi pua kamani pauku pua kīkī I lei hoʻowehiwehi no ka wahine E walea ai ka waokele I ka liko i Maunahele E lei hoʻi, e Liliʻulani ē E lei hoʻi, e Liliʻulani ē Charles K. L. Davis  Not only were many of the Hawaiian songs taken from early hymn tunes, Hawai‘i had its own hymns, such as Hawai‘i Aloha, composed by Reverend Lorenzo Lyons, a man who clearly helped establish Hawaiian as a written language, coming second only to those earlier missionaries who translated the scriptures.

Hawai‘i Aloha is truly Hawai‘i's own hymn.

[singing Hawai‘i Aloha]  E Hawaiʻi e kuʻu one hānau e Kuʻu home kulaīwi nei ʻOli nō au i nā pono lani ou E Hawaiʻi, aloha ē E hauʻoli nā ʻōpio o Hawaiʻi nei ʻOli ē!

ʻOli ē!

Mai nā aheahe makani e pā mai nei Mau ke aloha, no Hawaiʻi Charles K. L. Davis  Perhaps the most famous song of hymn tune origin to come out of Hawai‘i is Aloha ‘Oe.

It was composed by Queen Lydia Kamakaeha Lili‘uokalani.

It had its origin in an early hymn entitled The Rock Beside The Sea.

For Liliuokalani, it was a love song, but for Hawai‘i, it has become a song of farewell.

[singing Aloha ‘Oe] Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe E ke onaona   noho i ka lipo One fond embrace, A hoʻi aʻe au Until we meet again Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe E ke onaona noho i ka lipo One fond embrace,  A hoʻi aʻe au Until we meet again Haʻaheo ka ua i nā pali Ke nihi aʻela i ka nahele E   uhai ana paha i ka liko Pua ʻāhihi lehua o uka Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe E ke onaona noho i ka lipo One fond embrace,  A hoʻi aʻe au Until we meet again Charles K. L. Davis The missionary hymns moved the Hawaiian soul and they live today in Hawaiian song.

[END]