Irmgard Farden Aluli
"Auntie" Irmgard Keali'iwahinealohanohokahaopuamana Farden Aluli (1911 - October 4, 2001) was a Hawaiian composer who wrote over 200 songs. In Hawaii, she was considered a haku mele, or maker of songs.[1] Aluli is considered the most prolific woman composer of Hawaii since Queen Lili'uokalani.[2] She is the fourth person to be honored twice for a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA).[3] She has also been inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
Biography
Alui was raised in Maui and was one of ten children in a musical family.[2] Alui first started performing publicly with the Annie Kerr Trio in 1926.[1] She had an alto voice and could play piano, ukulele, bass and guitar.[2] Aluli wrote her first song in 1935, called "Down on Maunakea Street."[2]
In 1937, she had her first hit, "Puamana," which was a song she wrote about her childhood home.[2] "Puamana" has become a standard for hula dancers and Hawaain musicians.[4]
In the 1960s, she started a group called Puamana.[1] The group started out as a quartet which included her daughters and her niece.[3] A short film was created by Les Blank, Meleanna Meyer and Chris Simon about Paumana in 1991.[5] The film features the group and also includes interviews with Aluli.[6]
Alui performed publicly often, until she hurt her hand in 1998.[1] In 1998, she was honored with her induction into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.[2] She continued to play ukulele and made "occasional appearances until a few weeks before her death."[1] Aluli died on October 4 in Honolulu.[1]
In 2015, Puamana, which has continued under the leadership of her daughters and granddaughter earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from HARA.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Irmgard Farden Aluli (video)
