Leilehua Lanzilotti

nā pōkiʻi — cello and piano (2024)

Commissioned by The Bardin-Niskala Duo, duration 7’

nā pōki‘i weaves three fragments—the Hawaiian National Anthem, the fragmented beginning of a children’s song usually sung as a round, and a birdsong—leaving them all unanswered. Hawai‘i Pono‘ī translates as “Hawai‘i’s own [people].” The bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band at the time, Henri Berger, wrote the melody. King Kalākaua himself wrote the words to the anthem, which became the new National Anthem (replacing He Mele Lāhui Hawai‘i, written by his sister, Lili‘uokalani), and is still used today as Hawai‘i’s state song. In the second verse of Hawai‘i Pono‘ī, Kalākaua encourages Hawai‘i’s own not only to look to their leaders, but also to those after them: the flowers / children of Hawai‘i, affectionately referring to all of them as pōki‘i, or “closely related younger cousin[s], often spoken affectionately.”

Hawai‘i pono‘ī
Nānā i nā ali‘i
Nā pua muli ou
Nā pōki‘i

The work asks if these different calls for connection will remain unanswered, leaving sense of longing.