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SHEET MUSIC
To download the pdf file of the
sheet music, you can RIGHT click
on the words above and then
"Save Target As" to your desktop
.

LEARNING TRACKS

PRONUNCTION TIPS!

Dedicated with love to the spirit of the
Sweet Adelines International Convention
Hawaii, November 2008


It is truly a pleasure for Pride of Portland to present our beloved organization with the gift of
Aloha`Oe, arranged by one of our members, Kay MacDierney. As those of you who have travelled to Hawaii know, the people, energy, and spirit of the islands is unlike any other on earth. Paired with the love, joy, and harmony that we Sweet Adelines embody, our upcoming International convention should prove to be a magical event - not only for those of us fortunate to be competitors, but for all who will take part.

All of the tools you need to learn the song are on this website www.alohaoearrangement.com which we created for this purpose: including learning tracks, pronunciation guide, and sheet music.

We hope you will enjoy learning Aloha`Oe and find time during our week together in Hawaii to say hello to us and other sisters in song and sing through this wonderful work.

Wishing you many fond embraces until we meet..

In Harmony,
Ryan Heller and POP


Web Note: Pride of Portland took 9th Place at the 2008 Sweet Adeline
International Competition in Honolulu, Hawaii

Aloha 'Oe
Words, music and translation by Queen Lili
`uokalani
Ha`aheo ka ua i nâ pali
Ke nihi a`ela i ka nahele
E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko
Pua `âhihi lehua o uka
Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs
As it glided through the trees
Still following ever the bud
The `ahihi lehua of the vale
Hui:
Aloha`oe, aloha`oe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A ho`i a`e au
Until we meet again
Chorus:
Farewell to you, farewell to you
The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,
'Ere I depart
Until we meet again
`O ka hali`a aloha i hiki mai
Ke hone a`e nei i
Ku`u manawa
`O `oe nô ka`u ipo aloha
A loko e hana nei
Sweet memories come back to me
Bringing fresh remembrances
Of the past
Dearest one, yes, you are mine own
From you, true love shall never depart
Maopopo ku`u `ike i ka nani
Nâ pua rose o Maunawili
I laila hia`ia nâ manu
Miki`ala i ka nani o ka lipo
I have seen and watched your loveliness
The sweet rose of Maunawili
And 'tis there the birds of love dwell
And sip the honey from your lips
Learning Tracks
These learning tracks were prepared and recorded by Carol Swanson.

Note:
'oe should be 'oh-eh, NOT oy like in oy vay (as you could hear on the tracks).

To download any of the tracks below,
right click on one and then select "Save Target As"


All four parts together*

*06/08 Update: Bari tracks, ms 38, now have the beautiful baritone swipe up to F#.

from the arranger:
In 1981, when I first stepped off the plane in Hawai`i, I felt like I had come "home." When I joined my first Sweet Adeline Chorus, Na Leo Lani, I felt that I had found my voice. As my love for both blossomed during my time there, I began learning to arrange in the barbershop style and was naturally drawn to Hawaiian music. Even as I moved to Portland and joined Pride of Portland Chorus, my soul seemed inextricably woven with threads of Hawai`i and Sweet Adelines. In the more than 25 years since I first experienced Hawai`i and barbershop, my emotions for both have only intensified and it is with these feelings that this arrangement was lovingly written in honor of the 2008 Sweet Adeline Convention being held in Honolulu. I am truly coming home.

Aloha,
Kay MacDierney

Pronunciation Tips:
a = ah
e = eh
i = ee
o = oh
u = oo
' = glottal

Note:

'oe should be 'oh-eh,
NOT oy like in oy vay.

A bronze statue of Hawai`i's Queen Lili`uokalani
by Marianna Pineda, 1980, located on the south
side of the Hawai`i State Capitol,
photographed September 9,2004
by Eric Guinther
and released to Wikipedia.

Queen Lili`uokalani

Queen Lili`uokalani became queen after the death of her beloved brother, King David Kalakaua, January 19, 1891. She was to be the last Monarch of Hawai`i. In 1893 Queen Lili`uokalani was
forced to give up her monarchy when the United States overthrew her government and Hawaii
was annexed under the direction of President Grover Cleveland. Queen Lili`uokalani was an accomplished musician and song writer, composing over 165 mele’s (songs), even composing a few mele’s while
she was imprisoned by the U. S. as a result of the annexation. Her most famous and popular mele
is Aloha`Oe. Queen Lili`uokalani wrote Aloha`Oe several years before her overthrow. The song
was originally written as a romantic farewell song between two lovers, but after the overthrow
and upon her death, it came to represent so much more.

Aloha`Oe became the most sung song of Hawai`i: it is sung at the conclusion of all Hawaiian
funerals, special occasions, reunions, and weddings.

Aloha`Oe holds very special meanings for the Hawaiian people and those who embrace
Hawai`i nei (this Hawai'i).

There is a manuscript of "Aloha`Oe" in Queen Lili`uokalani's handwriting in the Bishop Museum.


Pride of Portland
Ryan Heller, director


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