Lena Machado: Songbird of Hawaii: My Memories of Aunty Lena

by Piolani Motta

One of Hawai‘i’s legendary singers, Lena Machado is considered one of the most important influences, ever, on Hawaiian music. What is unique about Lena Machado is that she was both a singer and composer, par excellence. For students of Hawaiian language, composition, or music, the importance of her work cannot be her songwriting encompasses fundamentals of traditional poetic construction and contains essential aspects of Hawaiian language mastery rarely explained in texts. Any lover of Hawaiian music can be easily swept away by her lilting soprano voice, while those who appreciate the nuances of Hawaiian poetry are captivated by her depictions of life’s most intimate and humorous circumstances. However, when both the musical and poetical spheres are in perfect alignment, as they are in Machado’s compositions, we are at once taken to a place of artistic perfection. Lena recorded albums for Victor, Columbia, Brunswick, and Decca and earned the title of Hawaii‘s "Songbird" in a career that spanned fifty years. She wrote both the music and lyrics for some of Hawaiian music’s most recognized songs. Her compositions "E Ku‘u Baby Hot Cha Cha", "Ei Nei", "Holo Wa‘apa", "Kauhoa Mai (Keyhole Hula)", "Moanike‘alaonapuamakahikina", and some are published here for the first time. This songbook includes sheet music for thirty songs, Hawaiian and English lyrics with extensive footnotes, over sixty images, and historical and biographical information for each song. Published by Ka‘iwakiloumoku, a Hawaiian cultural activities office at Kamehameha Schools, a portion of the proceeds will support the Haku Mele scholarship fund which is administered by the Ke Ali‘i Pauahi Foundation. The scholarship was established in 1993 by Pi‘olani Motta to promote Hawaiian musical composition among youth.

213 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a treasure. Especially for anyone who lived in Hawaii in the 1960's, among the local musicians, and local people, and loved the place, people, and their beautiful, island inspired music.