Hi,

Now that I've taken the plunge, does anyone here have any good links to Irish music being played well on an English Concertina, either YouTube or sound file or on CD?

Cheers
Dick

Why not check out the recorded links page...Henrik does a spanking good job as does Danny on the Wounded Hussar.

On listening to both their efforts I hang my head in shame and doggedly trudge on with my efforts. Enough pints and I fancy meself worth sitting next to them .

Well I would strongly recommend the following on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUWKM16vwzA

It is a guy from Australia and on youtube he goes under the name of clunktrip.
There are only two video's of his playing (Joe Derrane's & Stony Steps). There used to be more but perhaps he didn't find them good enough.
I think it's great playing with a lot of punch. And although he plays a little different than I, I just love it.
Would be interested to know what you (or others) think of it.

Nice clip. He looks like he's playing with a technique close to Simon Thoumire's: the thumb straps loose and the hands at about a 45 degree angle to the columns. I also notice that his hands do not touch the instrument, only the thumbs and pinky fingers. His fingers have a high arch and bounce high off the keys as well.

I did find the noise of the action a bit distracting-- the sound of the keys almost adds percussion to this clip.

I think that the instrument in that clip is a Wheatstone model 21. I have one which is the loudest and punchiest EC that I've played.

Edited to correct Simon Thoumire's name.

You mean Simon Thoumire? E.g. here.

Well indeed he plays somewhat like Simon Thoumire (if you mean Simon Thoumire...). If you listen Thoumire's playing you will also often hear the clicking of the action, especially when playing faster music.

This was played on a Wheatstone treble and was submitted to Sound Lantern by a contributing member of thesession.org currently known as "Dow".

Ah, good man - sounds like the real thing

/Henrik

Thanks, Mark -

I better put out a warning: I have removed them - they weren't really representative anymore. They were done on the little Stagi (what Henk calls The Frankenstein) and I just might do a few again, just for the fun of it, when the bellows have been sealed wi' something. Right now they are so leaky that you hardly see any difference whether a button is pressed or not -

/Henrik

I think this playing by Dow
is remarkable for being played on an English concertina.
It seems to me that it would more challenging to play
like this on an English than on an Anglo.

The following morning... well played, yes, but it still doesn't sound like Irish music played on an Anglo.
I've never heard Irish music played on an English that made me think it could pass as an Anglo.
It doesn't seem fair to expect that it would. This is an old conversation.
A Bach cello suite played on a concertina is interesting and impressive.
But it doesn't move me the way a cello suite played on a cello moves me.
So while I find Simon Thoumire's playing impressive it's nothing I'd want to be doing
when I could be playing Devaney's Goat on my C/G Anglo.

Good Morning David,

Yes indeed, but I don't know that the player actually wants it to sound like an Anglo, does he?.
I'd say it's more likely he just wants his music to sound as Irish as possible, & to my ears he does a cracking job.

I've never really understood why some West coast Scottish Fiddlers try so hard to make their fiddles sound like Bagpipes, when playing Pipe tunes.
To me, if they're so keen, they should learn to play the pipes & be done with it.
A Fiddle is a beautiful instrument & deserves to sound like itself.
Likewise Anglos & English Concertinas bring different qualities to the party & they should use & so celebrate their strengths.

As an Anglo player I love nothing more than great ITM played well on an Anglo.
However, I have a sneaky feeling that some Irish tunes e.g. Airs & Planxtys could sound absolutely brilliant on an EC & perhaps even bring some qualities to those tunes, that an Anglo couldn't quite manage.

As for Simon Thoumire's playing, it is absolutely brilliant & he is doing his own thing & who can fault anyone for that.
However, let's be fair, he is going in a different direction with his music & I don't think he wants to sound like Mrs Crotty playing Devaney's Goat.

But hey, I'd bet if you gave him an Anglo & left him in a darkened room for 20 minutes, he'd probably come out sounding like John Kelly!

Cheers
Dick

That is the essential point. As you said further on, it is an old conversation.
To me, it a question of interpreting the tune with with whatever abilities you may have on the particular instrument. And to borrow techniques and style elements from other instruments is fair game, I think.
/Henrik

Yes Henrik, borrow some & use them here & there, but I don't really see the sense in trying to make one instrument sound EXACTLY like another.
Surely that is doing a disservice to the instrument & if you wanted to go to that length, surely the sensible thing to do would be to change your instrument.

Cheers
Dick

Yes Henrik, borrow some & use them here & there, but I don't really see the sense in trying to make one instrument sound EXACTLY like another.
Surely that is doing a disservice to the instrument & if you wanted to go to that length, surely the sensible thing to do would be to change your instrument.

Cheers
Dick

Couldn't put it better myself - when I "borrow" elements, I do it with expression in mind, not with the purpose of imitating.
/Henrik

It's the old chewing gum.
Who cares if the Irish music played on EC sounds like AC or vice versa? And who said Irish music must be played on AC, or who says that Irish music played on EC is less interesting, or who says it must be punchy?
Whoever says it, must imagine roaring laughter from irish flute players. And players of all the other imaginable instruments can contribute to that laughter too.