Aloha ʻOe
by Queen Liliʻuokalani · arranged by Kaiserin Rebecca
- Instrumentation
- Cello
- Composed
- 1878
- Duration
- 2'10''
- Publisher
- Self-published digital edition, arranged by Kaiserin Rebecca (Hal Leonard ArrangeMe), cello solo, 1 p.
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About this piece
Liliʻuokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, composed more than 150 songs and chants [1]. She wrote Aloha ʻOe on a tour of Oʻahu in 1878 after seeing a young couple part tenderly, starting it at Maunawili and finishing it at Washington Place, her home [2]. The Hawaiʻi State Archives holds a pencil copy in her hand with the melody and the words in Hawaiian and English [3]. Kaiserin Rebecca's unaccompanied version puts the tune in C major for a young player, and although the edition prints it as Traditional, the song is the queen's [4]. Duoskope, violinist Evin Blomberg and cellist Natalie Helm, recorded their own version as a duo [5].
Technical overview
C major, 4/4, in first position on the G and D strings, from open G up to the F on the D string, with no shifting. Long tied notes ask for an even bow, and the rest is dotted quarter and eighth figures, a few two-note slurs, one C sharp that needs a small stretch, crescendos through the refrain, a forte for its closing phrase, and first and second endings.
Technical focus
- 2 Note Slurs
- Accidentals
- Bow Control
- D String Notes
- Dotted Rhythms
- Dynamics
- Extensions
- G String Notes
- Hairpin Dynamics