StuartEstell

My only regret is that Parcel Farce refused carriage to the second Balthazar.

You could perhaps do a halfway house Adrian - maybe record with a good quality portable recorder like a Zoom, in a church with a nice acoustic, to reduce (eliminate?) costs. Do an online release and at least the few dozen of us would get to enjoy it

I shall play the Devonshire Elbow Maneouvre for Regent's Park, under the 1869 Cancrizans amendments to the Waverley rules. I trust this is in order.

I presume the delays are on the Northern Line?

It's one of the reasons I took up Jeffries duet, Rik. I couldn't afford a big Jeffries anglo, but the duets are _much_ cheaper (or were, at least). Lots of instrument for the money.

Hearing these sorts of Elizabethan textures transferred so successfully to anglo makes me very happy indeed. Might you consider doing an album of this sort of thing Adrian? I imagine you feel about performing it the way I did about performing the Brahms left-hand piano arrangement of the famous Bach D minor Chaconne. In the end I just accepted that violinists would always hate me for it and performed it regardless

Quite - there's nothing wrong with moving the key of the song as long as it's vocally comfortable. However, I usually find myself wanting to move songs down, and end up playing a lot of songs in F and Bb. But not on a G/D anglo!

Samantha wishes to make it known she is feeling thoroughly obfuscated.

Agreed with all of the above - F on C/G and C on G/D sit very well on the instrument once you get used to them.

The other Samantha is of course the helpful (yet strangely silent) assistant on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, the radio programme whence the game comes...

Probably not too fond of off-topic "humour", either. But I'll ask Samantha when I see her next... in about 10 days time. Don't tell me - you're teaching her concertina: you squeeze while she plays with the buttons. Actually,I hear she's joined a concertina band. She's playing treble at the moment but she says she'd do anything for a tenner. She plays anglo (though primarily French horn) and hosts the annual Arran Concertina Event, which I believe celebrates its 11th year this coming October. I fear we are referring to different Samanthas, Jim.

Samantha will tolerate no off-colour jokes about being off-side, particularly by her gentleman-friends. And neither will Mrs. Trellis.

If anyone is still interested in this and didn't pick up the vinyl edition, it appears that a CD version is now available for pre-order: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shirley-Inspired-Various-Artists/dp/B00WU4XHXG/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=229816&s=music

Which side's going in to bat first?

Nothing wrong with set lists - preferably taped securely to the floor so that they don't go flying off into the distance unexpectedly!

In the end we did Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the Haymakers, and American Pie (minus a couple of forgotten verses... well, I'd only had a day or so to revise it!) - hugely enjoyable, and they all carried on singing afterwards, leading to impromptu renditions of various Monkees songs and all sorts of other stuff!

I did once have a go at playing some Webern piano music on Maccann duet. It was very difficult. To be honest, it didn't sound right either.

Thanks all for these suggestions - I must admit I wasn't initially thinking outside of the traditional repertoire, but this will give me plenty to look at tonight. Nothing like a bit of short-notice preparation!

Jim, it should be possible to play it while keeping the melody entirely on the right hand in G on a G/D, although it'll involve a fair amount of playing across the rows. I'm guessing that your instrument doesn't have a high C - but if you double some of the other high notes an octave lower you bring about a kind of trompe l'oreille, and no-one will miss that top C. If I get chance tonight I'll demonstrate what I mean.

It occurs to me that I could get Somewhere Over the Rainbow in there. I remember being reduced to a giggling loon by Douglas Rogers, many years ago, as I was tootling around with that tune on my Jeff duet, when he walked over and said, "oh, that's the one about the pie... you know, somewhere over the rainbow, weigh a pie" - complete with mime suggesting the assessment of fairly heavy pastry-based goods...

Thanks Don, glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure there'll be one along in a minute

Wayhay! Someone cited Motörhead in a discussion on Concertina net. My life is complete. Anglo players: born to raise Hell and we do it real well! I hoped someone would appreciate that I once wore my "Everything Louder than Everything Else" Motorhead shirt to a concertina band weekend, to much general amusement. "We are the Road Crew" on concertina? Has to be done, doesn't it?

Never come across it, no! I'll look that up, thanks Jim. Of course "Lumps of Plum Pudding" now comes to mind too - "...she gave me so much, I thought I would die..." Edit: a Google search directs me back to some posts on Concertina.net from a while back - there's no other evidence of this parody online You wouldn't still happen to have the words, would you Jim?

Despite being an anglo player I'd respectfully disagree, as I think it's possible to do whatever one wants with most instruments - but then difference makes the world go round

Mike, I use a one-row melodeon for much the same purpose. Musical decluttering!