Ptarmigan

Hi, The Northern Lass! Played here on Fiddle, English Concertina, Tin Whistle & Hammered Dulcimer, it first appeared in James Oswald's 'A Curious Collection of Scots Tunes', published in 1740. N. B. ... not to be confused with English tunes of the same name. Cheers, Dick * * * * *

One of my favourites: Eleanor Plunkett! Played on Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina, Fiddle & Tin Whistle. Cheers, Dick

Carolan's Welcome Played here on Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina, Fiddle & Tin Whistle. Composed by Turlough O'Carolan, he had it listed simply as #171. It was actually The Chieftains who gave it the title we all know it by today, for they adapted it as theme music on the occasion of Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Dublin in 1979 & the title has been used universally since then. It appears on The Chieftains 9 album: Boil the Breakfast Early. Cheers, Dick * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Burns March! Played here on the Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina & Fiddle. Couldn't resist using my Bari/Treble on this one, as there's a wonderful opportunity to use a few Bari notes in the 2nd half. This is the only composition in the Irish wire-strung harp repertoire similar in structure to Ceòl Mór that is documented with intact formal variations. It was collected by Edward Bunting, further along the Causeway Coast here, in the late C18th. Burns March! Cheers, Dick

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Aye, it'd be a shame to have those lovely low, growly notes & not make use of them, now & then. Cheers, Dick

The Blue Hills of Antrim! Played on ~ Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina, Fiddle & Tin Whistle. Cheers, Dick

Thanks Jim, I'd forgotten about this lovely tune, so I had a go at it myself, this morning. My arrangement starts with Hammered Dulcimer, but my English Concertina soon joins in. Planxty Thomas Burke Cheers, Dick

Not sure this one really counts, because although Carolan is known to have played this tune & had his own arrangement of it, it was actually composed by another great Harp player, Rory Dall O'Cahan (whose period was roughly 1550-1650) but he actually called it - Port Atholl. However, Carolan actually composed the song Ode to Miss Moore to this melody, so it certainly has strong Carolan connections. Interesting to note too, that, although .. "little is known of Rory Dall except that he was born to a noble County Derry family, he lived and composed mainly in Scotland where he found patronage for his music (which consisted of tunes he called "ports") among the nobility of that country." ... Hawk of Ballyshannon "Would be originally known as "Port Atholl", somewhat varied by Carolan (as "Katherine O'More"). http://pybertra.free.fr/ceol/tunes.htm Hawk of Ballyshannon Cheers, Dick

Thanks for the offer. As I learn all my music by ear, those recordings would be very helpful indeed, especially as I could only find a link to a recording of one of them, on the net. Cheers, Dick OK. I'll get onto it. The recordings aren't always of the whole song so OK for learning tunes but I'm assuming you've found the words. I'll scout through files to see if I have any copies of words. Thanks Chas, No hurry & please don't worry about the lyrics as I don't sing myself. It's just the melody I'm interested in. Cheers, Dick

Yes Mike, unlike most Wheatstones, there aren't too many Jeffries around, to which the exact selling date is known. Fortunately, he came home after that dreadful War & had a good few years to enjoy his Concertina. Cheers, Dick

Sorry Wolf ~ Jeffries

I managed to hang onto this wonderful Concertina for a little longer, but it will sadly now have to go, which is why I have just posted it on a certain auction site. This wonderful old Concertina was first bought on the 26th of June 1899, by one Albert Canacott {1881 to 1956}, new from Mr Charles Jeffries & signed by himself ..... & I actually have the receipt! (See Photo) When Albert died, in 1956, it passed down to his son, who you can see on the right, in the old family photo. It cost Albert the princely sum of £7 & 7 Shillings, although on the day he actually only laid down £2 & 2 Shillings. However, the only other time this Concertina ever actually changed hands for money, was in 2010, when I bought it from Albert's Grandson. Neither Albert's son, nor his Grandson, ever learned to play this instrument, so it has only ever had two 'playing' owners. It is in old pitch too, so I haven't actually played it very often in the past 4 years, so of course, there's a lot of life left in this old dog. Sadly, Albert's whole company was killed in a Mustard Gas attack, during the first World War & as they were clearing away the bodies, they actually found Albert, still alive under a pile of bodies! Can you imagine how that must have felt, being the only survivor! blink.gif Needless to say, he always had trouble with his lungs after that, but still managed to reach the ripe old age of 75! To give you an idea of just how gorgeous the reeds sound, here are a couple of videos of me playing this Concertina. Selections of Reels & Polkas, plus a selection of tunes myself & a few friends played for a TV show, Blas Ceoil, set in our local session pub. 2 Reels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNwGM-ieEXc Tunes on TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbIep29006Q Set of Polkas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvMkP0-MdSE I have posted some photographs to give an idea of the condition of this instrument. The original case & receipt will of course be included in the sale. Its present pitch is between present day G/D & Ab/Eb, so it could be lightly tuned either way. As the reeds are in their original state though, they will undoubtedly be in excellent condition for such a re-tune & so will still maintain that gorgeous tone that you only get with a quality vintage instrument like this. The bellows are also original & I have just never had the heart to replace those, especially as it plays so well, as it is, but if this Concertina is going to be played seriously, following a re-tune, then new bellows would probably be required. Other than that it is in excellent shape for an instrument that is now about 116 years old. For the lucky buyer, this will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get their hands on such an exquisite instrument, with those gorgeous Jeffries Reeds in original condition, not whittled away to thin, pale, weak & wasted versions of their former selves, as is the case with so many old Jeffries out there today, that have sadly suffered a number of re-tunes over the years. For anyone living in Ireland, who is seriously interested in this instrument, please note that I am happy to meet up with them at a halfway point, should they wish an opportunity to actually check this Concertina out for themselves. Should I need to send this instrument, it will be by using Tracking & e.g. Fedex for the likes of North America, so costs to the buyer could be as much as £100, but much less of course for the UK & Europe. As I say, it is on eBay at the moment, but I am open to offers from anyone who would be seriously interested.

Thanks for the offer. As I learn all my music by ear, those recordings would be very helpful indeed, especially as I could only find a link to a recording of one of them, on the net. Cheers, Dick

Hi Steve, glad you enjoyed it. I record using Garage Band on my iMac, then putting it all together on iMovie is ... Eazy Peezy! Cheers, Dick

Hi, Here's another ancient Irish tune, collected by Edward Bunting, the haunting ~ McFarlane's Lament! I play it here on Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina, Mandolin, Fiddle & Tin Whistle. Of course Edward Bunting died in 1843, which makes me wonder when the very first English Concertina actually arrived on these Irish shores & did he ever hear one! Cheers, Dick

Thanks for those Chas ... I'm off to Google them. Cheers, Dick

I'm sure the practice of using other peoples tunes &/or parts of them has always gone on & ... always will. Found this interesting page on the music of O'Carolan, when I was poking about the net, today. Complete Works Cheers, Dick

Hi, Thanks for that link. It certainly is a jolly wee tune, which is great, as lots of the tunes I have so far are rather sad. Cheers, Dick

Glad you enjoyed them. I must thank you for pointing me in the direction of Mike's great song, too. I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that I've added it to my wee collection of tribute videos, to those who created the stained glass windows. Carrying Nelson Home! Played on my Bari/Treble, Fiddle & Whistle. Cheers, Dick

There's a lot of debate as to the exact origins of The Princess Royal, as you will see from this: Princess Royal Cheers, Dick

Thanks for the suggestion. I found the video of Mike singing it on The Victory ... & Martyn's video too. Cheers, Dick

At the suggestion of Jim Lucas, I'm posting a link to my wee video of this tune, as it is clearly related to the Princess Royal. Instruments: English Concertina, Nyckelharpa, Tenor Guitar & Side Drum. Cheers, Dick

I'm repeatedly getting an error on that third YouTube video. The other two are fine. Bold Nelson's Praise! is interesting, in that it seems to be a hybrid of two Morris tunes... A part of Princess Royal and B part of I'll Go Enlist For a Sailor. The latter tune is also a song, a favorite of a Swedish friend of mine, while Princess Royal is a candidate for this month's (August 2015) Theme of the Month. Maybe you should post your link there, too? Thanks Jim. I've no idea why you can't access that third video. I've checked on YouTube & they're all set to public & all three links work fine for me & I know others have watched them all, from the same links on another forum. ... ALIENS!!! All I could find out about Bold Nelson's Praise was that it was first in print in the 'Complete Dancing Master' of 1730. Of course I'm happy to post the link to it, over on the other forum. Cheers, Dick

I recently discovered magnificent stained glass windows in a local church hall, which are a tribute to Lord Nelson at Trafalgar. They set me thinking about tunes that have Nelson or Trafalgar in the title & these videos are the result. Trafalgar Hornpipe! Instruments: English Concertina, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin & Tenor Guitar Bold Nelson's Praise! Instruments: English Concertina, Nyckelharpa, Tenor Guitar & Side Drum. The Death of Nelson! Instruments: English Concertina, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin & Side Drum. Cheers, Dick

I do hope you mean to put the BT's hard case into the gig bag. I would never trust such a rare and valuable instrument to a soft case alone, even though yours apparently has metal ends and mine is "ebony". The bag just arrived & here's a photo of my Bari/Treble, inside its case, inside the new bag ... there's even enough extra space for a Packed Lunch. Cheers, Dick