Author Description

In ancient times, the music of Hawaii was expressed in chants passed down orally through generations. As foreigners came, musically-gifted Hawaiians embraced their songs, from Christian hymns to sea shanties, Viennese waltzes to Prussian marches. The Prussian who would become known as the Father of Hawaiian Music, Heinrich Berger, was sent to the Kingdom of Hawaii by the Kaiser in 1872 to improve King Kamehameha V's royal band. For the next 43 years, Berger conducted Hawaii's band and wrote, arranged and transcribed thousands of Hawaiian songs and preserved them for posterity. His music includes the arrangement of Queen Lili'uokalani's beloved Aloha 'Oe. During tumultuous times, from two different worlds apparently at odds, Berger and the Queen were joined together by the power of music.