The Methodist Home Mission Party, On Stage in New Zealand, 1924-1934

Abstract

Choirs were a key component of entertainment in late nineteenth-and early twentieth-century New Zealand. Choirshave for the most part been understudied as a topic of both musical and historical investigation. One such choir, the Methodist Home Mission Party (MHMP) established in 1924 by Reverend Arthur John Seamer, consisted of indigenous Maori singers and orators who performed an eclectic range of repertoire, which included religious, indigenous, popular (mainstream) music and Western art music. This choral group sang and performed on many stages for nearly 12 months of each year from 1924 to 1938. This article focuses on their extensive tours of New Zealand between 1924 and 1934 and thereby reveals an important aspect of New Zealand performance history, and more specifically its music history. At a time when live performance was sought after in communities throughout the country for entertainment, the MHMP had the ability to surprise, educate and enthral their audiences.

The stage, understood as "a space where different cultures and communities intersect, interact and are mutually influenced by the encounter", was crucial to the MHMP. The stage is a site that is constantly modified by performers in response to changing contexts, such as commercial or non-profit agendas, or religious environments compared to secular ones. By investigating the MHMP and the various repertoire they performed, I cast light on the diversity of both Māori and European musical traditions extant on the New Zealand stage, including a vibrant cross-cultural performance culture. Each performance enabled education as well as development for not only the performers involved, but also their audiences throughout New Zealand and later in Australia and Great Britain.