On track: Our taonga from the battlefields

The National Library and Atoll Records call their occasional series of historical New Zealand recordings He Puiaki Puoro or Treasures in Sound; an understatement if ever there was one.

Over the years they have given us Rosina Buckman's 1924 Madama Butterfly along with historic recordings from Oscar Natzka, Frances Alda as well as my favourite - 22 vibrant waiata by the Tahiwis, dating from 1930.

The two discs of Ake, Ake, Kia Kaha E! gather together wartime recordings made by the New Zealand 28 (Maori) Battalion, recorded at Papakura Military Camp as well as during campaigns in Cairo, North Africa and Taranto.

Sometimes songs come with a special context. In one track soldiers from "A" company send messages back home to the poignant backdrop of gentle hymns and the inevitable Now is the Hour.

One of the most stirring items has Tuini Ngawai's blessing of "Arohaina mai" heartily voiced to the tune of Gershwin's Love Walked Right In.

Tunes may well be familiar, even if the Maori words are not. Aue te Mamae, te Aroha picks up on Shabby Old Cabby, a minor Tin Pan Alley hit of the time. Ngawai launches some satire in Hitler's direction to the strains of Click Go the Shears.

There's humour too in an account of a makeshift Christmas hangi in the desert, followed by a particularly contented Tapu te Po (Silent Night).

The overseas material reveals the ingenuity of the Middle East Recording Unit of the New Zealand National Broadcasting Service and sometimes the sounds of war itself are caught, in distant artillery fire.

And, of course, what would this collection be without the celebrated Maori Battalion March to Victory? This opens the second CD, played by brass band, then sung, with quaint formality, by an anonymous tenor with piano and finally celebrated by the robust voices of the soldiers.

This splendid publication, two CDs with elegant booklet, retails for $35. So much love and expertise has gone into it, particularly from producer Henare te Ua and Wayne Laird, whose skilful production has yet again made our priceless history available for those who want to hear and acknowledge it.

* Ake, Ake, Kia Kaha E! Songs of the New Zealand 28 (Maori) Battalion (Atoll ACD 206).