William J Mullaly

[wes williams]

Just found this :-

 

Recorded on November 22, 1926 in Camden, New Jersey. Mullaly plays the concertina and is accompanied by the piano of Edward Lee on this version of a medley of Irish reels. According to Philippe Varlet and Richard Spottswood, Mullaly was the only Irish concertina player to be recorded prior to World War II.

 

Here:

http://www.archive.org/download/Greengrove...ovesOfErin_.mp3

 

You'll also find Lea Nicholson's Concertina record on the same site, which I think has come up here before.

[Bruce McCaskey]

I hesitate to comment for fear I'm repeating something previously discussed in the forums, but my search effort didn't turn anything else up so I'll plunge ahead...

 

I have this and another recording by Mr. Mullaly on a set of four CD's sold as a boxed set under the name "Farewell to Ireland." The first recording on the CD set is "The Green Groves of Erin/The Ivy Leaf (reels)" and the second recording of Mr. Mullaly is "Humours of Mullingar/Jackson's Wife to the Road (jigs)"

 

The accompanying booklet provides a few paragraphs of information about him and notes that his expert touch won him great popularity because while relatively common in Irish music circles in the old country, the concertina was still a rare sight in Irish American traditional circles at the time. Concluding, it says in part "Legend has it that Mullaly was not too keen on the 'professional music business' and shortly after these recording gave his instrument to a nephew in Philadelphia and gave up music."

 

Bruce McCaskey

Edited December 23, 2004 by Bruce McCaskey

[Greg Jowaisas]

"Brilliant!"

 

Thanks for sharing, Wes.

 

Greg

[Mark Davies]

I remember attending either the first or second Mrs Crotty Weekend where Harry Bradshaw gave a most interesting talk on the concertina in Irish traditional music.He played us the first known recording of a concertina player in Ireland who was a an English concertina player from Dublin.Harry was I believe the person who first released the complete recordings of William Mullaly on his Via Voice label so was in a position to to know the facts.I understand this is no longer available which is a pity as a lot of people would be interested in purchasing the recordings.Authentic Irish traditional music should therefore be played on the English concertina not the Anglo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bill_mchale]

Wes, Thanks for posting the really great link. I will have to see if I can track down more by Mullaly.

 

Bruce, Never fear to comment on anything here. If a topic has not cropped up at least 100 times on a specialized forum then it can't be very interesting can it? .

 

--

Bill

[malcolm clapp]

I have a 30 minute tape of an RTE broadcast from around 1984, part of a series entitled The Irish Phonograph, this featuring William J Mullaly, his 78 rpm recordings and his life.

Whilst I would not be too keen about copying it 300 times for interested people, I would be quite happy to do a taped copy for the ICA archive, Wes, if it cannot be got from RTE. (I'm sure some one much cleverer than me can then transfer it to CD for the sake of better preservation).

As for copyright issues, I shall plead ignorance (or possibly insanity caused by CCAD).

Regards to all and Merry Christmas,

Malcolm

 

Edited to add that the RTE programme was produced by the above-mentioned Harry Bradshaw.

Edited December 24, 2004 by malcolm clapp

[David Barnert]

Great find.

 

I assume he's playing an English, then? Some of his ornamentation sounds like stuff I've only heard on Anglos.

[malcolm clapp]

No, Mullaly is playing an anglo.

 

The earlier recordings (1926) almost certainly on a Wheatstone which was later given to the family of his nephew. Apparently it was sent to Wheatstone's for repair just before the earlier (1926) recordings were made, according to the RTE programme researcher (Harry Bradshaw?) who visited the family and saw the instrument and the repair receipt. However, the 1927 recordings sound like a different concertina, but this may have been a result of different recording techniques.

 

I have encountered many older players from Ireland who tend to refer to an English made anglo, be it a Jeffries, Wheatstone, Lachenal, whatever, as an English, i.e. made in England, as opposed to a German made instrument. My God-Mother's husband, a fine traditional Irish mandolin, banjo and 4 stop melodeon player, always refers to my Jeffries as an English. I have tried to explain the differences to him, but being in his late 80s and very set in his ways....

 

Mullaly, originally from Co Westmeath, was not recorded in Ireland, but in the US. I think perhaps Mark is confusing Mullaly with the recordings of a Dublin player in the 1940s (can't recall his name) who possibly played "English" (but see comments above).

 

Regards,

Malcolm.

[David Barnert]

Recorded on November 22, 1926 in Camden, New Jersey. Mullaly plays the concertina and is accompanied by the piano of Edward Lee on this version of a medley of Irish reels. According to Philippe Varlet and Richard Spottswood, Mullaly was the only Irish concertina player to be recorded prior to World War II.

Authentic Irish traditional music should therefore be played on the English concertina not the Anglo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I assume he's playing an English, then? Some of his ornamentation sounds like stuff I've only heard on Anglos.

No, Mullaly is playing an anglo.

Thanks. I feel much better now.

[mike byrne]

I have a cassette tape of William Mullaly playing the ten tunes he recorded.

 

It is recorded on the Viva Voce label, I bought it from Veteran, www.veteran.co.uk

 

Stephen Chambers must have his computer switched off because inside the cover it thanks him and others for the information.

[wes williams]

I have a 30 minute tape of an RTE broadcast ...William J Mullaly, his 78 rpm recordings and his life.

Whilst I would not be too keen about copying it 300 times for interested people, I would be quite happy to do a taped copy for the ICA archive, Wes, if it cannot be got from RTE. (I'm sure some one much cleverer than me can then transfer it to CD for the sake of better preservation).

Thanks Malcolm!

 

I've got the cassette, and it says that Mullaly only recorded 10 sides (March 1926 (2), November 1926 (4) and June 1927 (4)) so having even one side publicly available is a great intro. Perhaps someone could persuade Harry Bradshaw to do a re-release? The cassette notes say the instrument was sent for servicing for the Nov 1926 session.

 

 

Authentic Irish traditional music should therefore be played on the English concertina not the Anglo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first concertinas in Ireland were probably English system - Regondi's tour of 1834 probably started an interest off, and Joseph Scates moved to Dublin around 1851. But George Jones' first major order (as manager for Jabez Austin) was for anglos from Scates in Dublin.

[Frank Edgley]

WES: "The first concertinas in Ireland were probably English system - Regondi's tour of 1834 probably started an interest off, and Joseph Scates moved to Dublin around 1851. But George Jones' first major order (as manager for Jabez Austin) was for anglos from Scates in Dublin."

 

FRANK: You're probably right. However, according to a lecture I heard Gearoid OhAllmuirhain dive in Detroit, the German system was probably introduced to the west of Ireland through ports of emigration, like Limerich, where ship's chandelrys would have sold the cheap German concertinas. Being much less expensive than English made and English system instruments, they were affordable and accessible to the poorer Irish farmers etc. These would have been the instruments used for traditional music for dancing as opposed to the music Regondi would have played and for a different type of audience as well. The German concertinas were only 20 button instruments and helped determine the fact that the key of C was much more common in very old style trad playing than it is today. It's been a while since I listened to her recordings, but I think Mrs. Crotty plays several tunes in C including the "Concertina Reel".

[Rhomylly]

That must be the tape I have. I ordered it through an ad in Concertina and Squeezebox 10-12 years ago or so. It's some amazing work.

[wes williams]

Being much less expensive than English made and English system instruments, they were affordable and accessible to the poorer Irish farmers etc.

It was the same over in England, Wales, and Scotland. The cheaper German made instruments were popular as starter instruments, and anybody who took up an interest was able to buy a better quality instrument later, although some players preferred to stick with their German boxes. My observations were based on the 'earliest' concertinas in Ireland rather than traditional music, and I doubt very much if the early expensive English system instruments ever reached any traditional musicians, although Jones's supply of anglos to Scates show that there was a healthy anglo counter-culture in Dublin in the early 1850s.

[David Barnert]

Being much less expensive than English made and English system instruments, they were affordable and accessible to the poorer Irish farmers etc.

It was the same over in England, Wales, and Scotland. The cheaper German made instruments were popular as starter instruments, and anybody who took up an interest was able to buy a better quality instrument later, although some players preferred to stick with their German boxes.

Isn't it still true today (substitute "Italian" for "German")?

[Stephen Chambers]

Isn't it still true today (substitute "Italian" for "German")?

Or substitute Chinese for both ?

 

Mind you, some of the cheaper, allegedly Italian and German models on the market look suspiciously Oriental too ............

 

Maybe we even need to invent a new term to describe them, like the "Sino-German concertina", though really their design owes more to Italian models so perhaps that should be the "Sino-Italo-German concertina" ?

 

Hmmm, maybe that is one reason why they are all starting to be described (incorrectly) as Anglos these days ?

[Michael Reid]

The German concertinas were only 20 button instruments and helped determine the fact that the key of C was much more common in very old style trad playing than it is today. It's been a while since I listened to her recordings, but I think Mrs. Crotty plays several tunes in C including the "Concertina Reel".

I've had the RTE CD of Mrs. Crotty (are there any others?) on continuous play in my car for several days, and it doesn't include the Concertina Reel. Kitty Hayes, however, does play Concertina Reel in C on "A Touch of Clare."

 

In the process of getting thoroughly Crotty-fied, I learned some interesting things about her playing. She played almost everything in G. As for the odd tune in D, she played one, Rolling in the Ryegrass, that has no C sharps. And she omitted all of the usual C sharps in The Silver Spear, playing Ds instead.

 

In fact, as far as I can tell, Mrs. Crotty never touched the third row, although she played a 30-key Lachenal. The extensive liner notes say that in her youth she played a 20-key German concertina, so it appears she stuck with her early technique.

Edited December 28, 2004 by Michael Reid

[Guest Peter Laban]

Kitty Hayes, however, does play Concertina Reel in C on "A Touch of Clare."

 

In the process of getting thoroughly Crotty-fied, I learned some interesting things about her playing. She played almost everything in G. As for the odd tune in D, she played one, Rolling in the Ryegrass, that has no C sharps. And she omitted all of the usual C sharps in The Silver Spear, playing Ds instead.

 

I am not sure about 'the usual Csharps" in the Silver Spear, I never play them (being a piper, following Seamus Ennis' version) and I always feel a bit they are somehow out of place when i do hear someone using them.

 

If you listen to Kitty Hayes' playing you'll find that, contrary to Mrs Crotty, never uses the C natural (or, more precisely, it's equivalent in the key of C) but always has the C sharp, playing a little triplet which makes she can get away with it when playing on her own.

Edited December 28, 2004 by Peter Laban