[Circa 1885 Lachenal Anglo]

>The figures I use for Lachenal anglos are somewhere on this site...

 

Thank you for the serial numbers and projected dates. A lot more information than I had before!

 

>can you post a photo of yours, would love to see it?

 

I have sent pictures before restoration to your private email. It is my intention to use a picture of the

infernal machine as my 'signature' picture when I get my act together...

 

Roger

[Circa 1885 Lachenal Anglo]

>My Lachenal Anglo with the serial number 87119 has just been dated to circa 1885

 

I've just acquired my first concertina - a Lachenal 20 button C/G Anglo. It has the serial number 74693 and I'm told it

is dated to 1895.

 

Looking at it 'logically', assuming that the serial numbers correlate (roughly) with date, there's an inconsistency here?

 

So my question is, were these things numbered sequentially, or was there a different sequence of numbers for different

models? Looking at the pictures, my instrument is similar to yours but not *exactly* the same - the 'window' through which

the serial number is visible is a different shape on mine, so it's a different model?

 

I can't see any information about Lachenal serial numbers on the Digital Concertina Archive which answers this question.

 

I'm trying to find out as much about mine as I can. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks.

 

Roger Hare.

[New Player, New Member, Old(Ish) Concertina...]

>If you worked it out yourself from memory then maybe you came up with a version in C. What is the last note in your melody? This

>is usually, but not always, the tonic or key note for the tune. In the case of the German Musicianer, the last note is the key note.

 

Correct! The last note in 'my version' is C - and of course, if I play it in G (ie: on the G row), the last note is G, so it all starts

to hang together...

Thank you for the information about ABC notation, I have tried it out and it seems to work (well, it would, wouldn't it). This is going

to be very valuable as I try to convert from one key to t'other (for singing).

 

>...maybe you came up with a version in C...

 

Yes. I now see that there is often more than one version of a tune - I just looked at 'She Moved Through the Fair' and there are

several versions of that one too. I'm feeling better already!

 

Thank you very much for all that useful information - should keep me quiet for a while!

 

>You mean "Pilgrim's Way"?

 

Yes, I do. I've recently been browsing "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan, hence the mental slip. And, Yup! I just looked at your

reference, and that's the one. I hadn't realised it was one of the Kipling settings.

 

Thanks again.

 

Roger.

[New Player, New Member, Old(Ish) Concertina...]

>My question to you is, do you really get to mess about in Brixham Trawlers?!?

 

Yes. I am a 'volunteer' and shareholder in the newly restored Brixham sailing trawler 'Pilgrim' (http://pilgrimofbrixham.co.uk/).

Soon to be a director of the company I hope. Been sailing these boats for most of the last (almost) 20 years, and this year

I have managed to sail on the other three big local trawlers 'Leader', 'Provident' and 'Vigilance' as well as sailing on 'Pilgrim'.

A concertina is a handy thing to have on these boats, particularly at French trad boat festivals!

 

So that this reply isn't *entirely* off-topic, one of the tunes I hope to pick up in the near future is 'A Pilgrim's Progress'. I know

that Peter Bellamy sang this one one of his LPs but I haven't tracked that one down yet. I'm also actively trying to learn 'Le

31 du mois d'Aout', a fine old French song beloved of French yachtsmen because it's mildly offensive to the 'Rosbifs'!

 

Roger

[New Player, New Member, Old(Ish) Concertina...]

Hi, I'm a new player, and a new member, so my first post is full of questions!

 

After many years fannying about, I finally took the plunge and bought a concertina when I discovered that

one of my sailing buddies was a novice player too.

 

I've acquired Lachenal 20 button C/G Anglo concertina no 74693 (hence the user name!), vintage 1895.

This is a happy co-incidence - the restored sailing trawler I muck about on was also constructed in 1895!

 

However, I have a couple of questions:

 

1) The button layout on my instrument is the same as that shown in the Anglo fingering chart on the Digital

Concertina Archive. However, this differs slightly from that assumed in my tutor - I think that the F and F#

on the right hand side button 5 in the G row are transposed. The tutor states that "This [the layout] can vary

from make to make.". Fair enough, but how common are deviations from the 'standard' layout, and does it

matter?

 

2) My knowledge of musical theory is limited, but I know that the key of C consists of 'natural' notes, and that

the key of G contains only one 'accidental' (F#). But, three days after acquiring the instrument, I have worked

out a recognisable version of one of my favourite tunes 'The German Musicianer'. But this tune is in D (two

sharps) according to the score I have found on the internet. How is it possible to play a tune in a key for which

one does not have all the notes? I have seen a comment on a manufacturer's website which effectively states

that (I paraphrase...) 'we only manufacture C/G concertinas which cover the range of all traditional music and

is able to be played in the less common keys as well', so clearly it's possible, but how does this work?

 

Two solutions occur to me: (i) by a happy co-incidence, the tune does not contain either of the accidentals

which occur in the key of D; (ii) I am cunningly and unconsciously 'modifying' the tune as I learn it to replace

any accidentals with naturals, the result being 'good enough' for folk music. I am not entirely convinced by

either of these 'explanations'. So, I ask again, how does this work? Help!

 

Thank you.

 

Roger Hare.