James Fitton

Bravo Ryo, great stuff there! I'm a long way from an expert on Irish Traditional Music, but I'd never have guessed that was anything else. Great arrangements and playing throughout. And you've either got a good band around you too, or strong talents on other instruments!

Thanks, Simon! And a happy new year to you and to all.

That's lovely, Randy, thanks for posting this. And I so much agree that technology has brought us so much as musicians around the world. Not so many years ago we'd almost certainly never have heard each other's music, let alone been able to play and record with people far away.

Just in time for any New Year's Day dance-outs, here's a pair of hornpipes, as a set for dancing. The first is named after a hill in Saddleworth, England, where I live. It's a fairly undistinguished little hill, if truth be told, but it's the one I see out of my window, and which tells me I'm home. The second was finished on 11th November one year.

That's grand, that. Is there a Jew's Harp / Jaws Harp in the mix there too?

Thanks Simon - glad you liked it!

Here's a little something, with two English concertina lines, over and under each other:

Many thanks for your kind comments, Simon and Mandojoe - both very much appreciated! No idea what might come next - we'll see.....

Right. By popular demand - well from MandoJoe at least, thanks! - I've written a third and final part for this little project, having driven myself slightly mad with it over recent weeks. Here's the whole thing without the churchy effects: Here's the whole thing with the churchy effects: ....and here's just the new part, if that's all you want to hear:

As others have said, very well done after just a week. I'll be interested to hear where you're up to after a month!

I really like this Simon, especially the main themes towards the start and the end. I think it could easily lend itself to a full-on barn dance arrangement, plenty of drive in the tune. Good stuff!

Lovely, lush and full. Thanks for posting, it's a great tune.

Oh, there's a thought! I do have a foot bass, but don't play it often, as it's so difficult to find a comfortable playing position. But I like the idea....

On the recordings part of this site, there's currently a new (and lovely) video and recording of a concertina and bagpipe playing together. It led me to wonder about other interesting and unusual partnerships for a concertina, almost in the style of those sites which recommend the best matches for Leos or Geminis or whatever. Which matches do people really like, and which work less well? I'm fond of concertina with other free reeds, piano and guitar, but they all feel a bit obvious. Other dream partners?

That's lovely, thank you. I'm not sure I've ever heard a bagpipe/concertina duet before, but I really liked this. It's unusual (to my ears) but definitely worked for me.

Thanks Mandojoe, glad you liked it! I'm not at all sure at the moment where a third or fourth part would take this, but inspiration may yet strike! It's so interesting all the different sorts of music we can make with our concertinas. "A dream about a medieval Philip Glass" is a great line too - I'd ask to borrow that if I were seriously promoting this music.....

Thanks Simon - much appreciated!

Earlier in the year, I had a go at writing a quartet, for 2 concertinas, a melodeon, and an accordion. It was a fun thing to try, so I've written and recorded a second part, and put the two together in a little set. With some post-production work to make the whole thing sound like church music. There's no organ here, but it's interesting how the various free-reeds can sound so much like one...Stream James Fitton | Listen to The Light in the Darkness playlist online for free on SoundCloud

Thanks Simon, glad you liked it!

Possibly a baritone English? I play tenor-trebles, and that looks a good deal bigger than either of mine. Whatever it is, it has a wonderful tone, and that's a great performance too.

Two English concertinas, playing a reel. The Floating Light as a pub, high on the moors between Manchester and Huddersfield, is long gone. The legend of the mysterious floating light in that area however remains.

Lovely, Simon, thank you. It sounded almost like the start of a fugue - I imagined bass lines coming in echoing the theme you'd established...

That's lovely Jim. If it is indeed an ancestor of Old Tom of Oxford, it's been developed quite a lot along the way! I wouldn't have connected the two, I don't think, if you hadn't mentioned it.

Isn't the folk process interesting! I grew up in Manchester, England, in the 70s and 80s, and this is pretty much word-for-word and note-for-note the version I know. Also a fair few more ribald adaptions, but this version sounds "canonical" to my ears (not that that really means much in this context.) Anyway, nicely done and thanks for posting!

Thanks Simon - I think the sound of free reeds sort of lends itself to music like this, given the options of both long drones and shorter more percussive sounds. I had a lot of fun writing it, and may well play about a bit more with the idea of a quartet. Why should string players have all the fun!