The sailing canoe Hokule‘a inspires an epic choral work

“Raising Hawaiki,” a major choral and symphonic work that commemorates the Hokule‘a and its 2017 worldwide voyage, debuts today in a performance by the O‘ahu Choral Society, the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra and several other local performing groups.

Composer Michael- Thomas Foumai, who currently teaches in the University of Hawaii-Manoa Music Department, composed the eight-movement work over the last three years at the behest of local philanthropist Elizabeth Wong, with Hawaiian cultural experts like Polynesian Voyaging Society navigator Nainoa Thompson, Hawaiian language professor Puakea Nogelmeier and choral director Nola Nahulu providing input.

Foumai, a Roosevelt High graduate who studied at UH and the University of Michigan, has received several major composing awards from organizations like the Aspen Music Festival, Harvard and major music industry organizations BMI and ASCAP. He said he has never worked on a project with such “weight” before, particularly in regards to a Hawaii-related project.

“When I met Nainoa and his team and everybody that I’d only read about, I could feel how important it was,” Foumai said. “This was not something you live with for one week and move on. This was something they dedicated their lives to, so I wanted to make sure the piece itself did justice to their life’s work.”

Foumai also drew on Sam Low’s book “Hawaiki Rising” to address various themes, such as the first voyage of Hokule‘a, the process of learning traditional navigation with Micronesian master navigator Mau Piailug and the heroism of waterman Eddie Aikau. Much of the choral text comes from quotes cited in Low’s book. Public speeches by Thompson provided other material.

Musically, the work features epic, sweeping melodies and motifs, reminiscent of a film score.

“This was kind of a dilemma for me as a composer,” Foumai said. “I’m writing about something that means a lot to a lot of people, so what kind of musical vocabulary should I use? I could use any kind of vocabulary, but I had to try to find an appropriate language that could speak to many people – but also be interesting to me.

“I love film music, that’s what I grew up listening to. And it seemed like an appropriate, with all those pictures of Hokule‘a visiting different countries and ports. It seemed like the right choice of musical style.”

The music also has visual references to sailing and the ocean – seen on the page, the notes can be seen as forming images of boats, sails and ocean swell. (That’s a technique said to have been employed by Bach, whose “B Minor Mass” is said to include a motif that looks like the cross.)

“For something as important as Hokule‘a in being a symbol, I wanted to try to make everything – the rhythm, the melody – everything in some way be related to seafaring culture,” Foumai said.

“If I were to go through every note and page of the music, I could point out to you what each line is related to – it could be the sail, it could the ocean, it could be the Hokule‘a theme, which is built on the shape of a canoe.”

The performance will feature the O’ahu Choral Society, joined by the choir groups from Kapi‘olani Community College and Windward Community College.

Featured soloists are Malia Ka‘ai-Barrett, soprano, Blythe Kelsey-Takamasu, alto, Mark Ah Yo, tenor, and Jeremy Wong, bass.

The performance will include visuals designed by Cheryl Flaherty, known for her spectacular presentations as director of Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre.

“Raising Hawaiki” is presented as part of a program titled “Ho‘ala (To Awaken),” which will include the Brahms Requiem. O‘ahu Choral Society director Esther Yoo will conduct the singers and the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra.

IN CONCERT

“Ho‘Ala” (To Awaken)

Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall

When: 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $29-$59

Info: ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000