SKU: CN.S11175

From majestic to pastoral to dance-like, Land of the Long White Cloud is Philip Sparke's representation of New Zealand. This piece is a wonderful addition to the concert band repetoire.

Long before Europeans ventured out of sight of land, the bold and restless ancestors of the Maori people were making voyages of thousands of miles across the world's greatest oceans. It was around 1000 AD that they landed in New Zealand. The discovery of New Zealand is attributed in Maori tradition to Kupe and the circumstances of the landfall gave the country its Maori name. As land was approached, a long, flat volcanic cloud could be seen. Kupe's wife Hine-te-aparangi, looked to the horizon and cried out, He ao! He ao! A cloud! A cloud! The name of Aotearoa was given to the islands - The Land of the Long White Cloud. Land of the Long White Cloud was originally conceived as a brass band work as a result of a commission by the New Zealand Brass Band Association for their National Championships held in 1980 in Christchurch. This transcription by the composer was commissioned by Keith Allen and Birmingham Schools' Wind Orchestra who gave the first performance in the Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham, England on Sunday 15 May 1988.