Visits to Ikaia-Purdy's Frankfurt-area home deepened Spree's impression that the tenor's racial heritage is integral to understanding, and in turn portraying the man; for photographs of ancient hula, painted images, posters and artifacts of Hawaiian origin cover the walls. And, most amazingly: a column in his formal dining room had been converted by local artist and friend Carin Damerow into a paper machè palm!

The popular Austrian television host, singer, composer, guitarist and poet, Peter Horton, counts himself a convert to Hawaiian music. A joint concert with Ikaia-Purdy some years back involved his accompanying "Ka'ena" - a traditional song made popular by the Cazimeros. He loved the song - and soon was gifted with the Brothers CAZ - "Best of..." albums, IZ and as much slack-key as the tenor could find in Europe. Today Horton - a Viennese-born, Tyrolean resident - performs Hawaiian songs in his own concerts -and this past September he joined the tenor for a duet concert, no less than half of which was performed in Hawaiian! Indeed, so successful was the pairing that future concerts are now being planned.

For his part, film director Spree's experiences in Hawaii - following dozens of interviews, attendance at musical and hula dance events, topped off by a day's visit to the tenor's alma mater, Kamehameha High School - convinced him that Ikaia-Purdy's once seemingly "pleasant, good natured personality" was in fact rooted in a virtually spiritual sense of connectedness with his beloved islands - all references made by Ikaia-Purdy to "home" mean "Hawaii." And the artist's life and work profoundly reflect his native Polynesian culture, its traditions of music and dance, its religious heritage, and its family-centered orientation.