Taonga Puoro - Singing Treasures: The musical instruments of the Maori is the first book to be published that comprehensively covers the world of Maori musical instruments, a fascinating and little-known area of traditional Maori culture. The book has been written by master carver and instrument maker Brian Flintoff, and was inspired by the late Dr Hirini Melbourne, one of the leaders of the modern revival of this art form. Taonga Puoro includes a background to the tunes played on these instruments and the families of natural sounds with which they are associated, while there are sections covering the various types of instruments, such as flutes, gourds, wood and shell trumpets and bullroarers. And to further breathe life into this book, the technical information about each instrument is interwoven with the stories and myths that belong to each intrument. In addition, instructions are given for making and playing these singing treasures, and there is an explanation of the art forms used in Maori carving. This is a beautiful book, heavily illustrated with colour photographs of exquisite contemporary instruments, as well as ancient taonga held in museums around the world. The book also comes with a CD sampler, compiled from a selection of recent releases and featuring tracks of contemporary Maori music and the natural sounds which inspires it.