Wolf Molkentin

I chose the cabinet since I'm mistrusting our cat (who doesn't like the sound of the concertina at all; thus she might identity the origin of her discomfort, and proceed to action).

That's what I do with my Lachenal EC, just (carefully) let it "pour" out of it's hexagonal wooden box... But at home I don't store it in that box or any case at all, just put it on a cabinet's shelf, ready to be picked up easily whenever I like to play a tune or two...

There is a certain "rythm guitarist" (at least that's what this female concertinist once called him humorously) and (fantastic) singer named Martyn Wyndham-Read, who gets ongoing (Duet) concertina accompaniment by the marvellous and amiable Iris Bishop! (edited to insert a missing "a") Oh, and you'll find lots of recordings under "(M. W.-R. &) No Mans Band"...

This is one of my all-time favourite folk albums (and thus would have made up my recommendation)!

I can confirm that - albeit only from my internet knowledge... As to me that's one of a few outstanding concertina videos!

This morning I found a document with much additional information such as translation and even a four-part score... (my guess would be that the setting from the video is not original, but that's just a guess...)

Here are the lyrics - the music seems to be under copyright... (the titel saying something like "The night has advanced"). Not having had the chance to listen to many of the videos today I just can suggest listening to this one if interested. Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen.pdf

Yes, it certainly is a reaction (albeit not in terms of politics) - that's what I'd been trying to say. Klepper was very much anti-Nazi, having been a member of the Social Democratic Party prior to the liquidation of Parliamentarism and suffering badly from the Nazis. His wife was regarded as being Jewish, and so were his children as a result. In 1942 the life of the family ended through suicide, when attempts to save a daughter and his wife appeared to have failed. I will provide you with the poem/lyrics (and maybe a bit of a translation) later this day... Regards - Wolf

Well, that depends... If you dig religious lyric (for whatever reason) you might f.i. find the poems of Paul Gerhard from the Baroque age appealing. There are quite a lot of them, and many have received great musical treatment. You might know "Ich steh' an Deiner Krippen hier" from the before mentioned Christmas Oratorio, "Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen" being another one which I would like to contribute if December's THEME OF THE MONTH should turn out this way. Another poet to be mentioned is Jochen Klepper, 1903 - 1942. His "Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen" reflects the experience of the National Socialist "Realm" in a powerful way and has a beautiful setting as well. I leave it at that for the moment... P.S.: One of the best-known German "holiday" tunes has to be be regarded as a "nordic" Nazi contraposition to this Christian sphere and spirit: "Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen", which I strictly avoided to date (however this morning I relearned that it's in fact an alienation of a much older carol singers tune, albeit nobody seems to know these variants nowadays).

Yes indeed, and I know which of them I'd contribute... Crazy but attractive!

Gcoover's presentation of his new tunebook gave me the idea of choosing Christmas carols (or tunes) as THEME OF THE MONTH December... What do you think?

Though I don't play the Anglo I'm glad to find the dots of just the two songs (the second and the third excerpted) I'd liked to go for and am not that familiar with from my "European" childhood... Thank you for that - and keep up the good work! In fact I love playing some Christmas carols on the concertina - might be the THEME OF THE MONTH December?

yes, indeed! (and a jolly workshop you seem to have had there...)

Glad that my take on this little non-Bach Bach piece has attracted some interest - thanks for the kind comments!

Methinks you are contradicting yourself with that recording. I knew that someone would point out this discrepancy since I had written that... But at least I play my tune in a slightly folky way, don't I?

So here it is - the concertina tune that comforts me most these days; played, not performed - as suggested, with some unevenness, over-excitement and all...

Same for me.

Wouldn't all parties agree on the ease of playing in the home keys of a diatonic front-end, which is mirrored by difficutlies (for the player who isn't familiar with that) increasing with every added accicental? The Hayden/Wicki, Janko a.s.f. systems might be not that accessible in Cmaj ord Amin, but clear the way for any transposition once someone is familiar to making use of them. OTOH there is the matter of representation or accessibility of musical structures such as harmony. While the piano keyboard offers an immediate understanding of parallel modes, at first glance just using "white" keys, the Hayden keyboard and the likes might keep firm relations at hand, which would ease an intuitive approach on the "geometrical" structures of scales and chords then (more a guess due to the lack of any personal experience with them). This is mainly to point out that we would have to differentiate between playability and, well, intelligibility. My guess would be that in both respects the conventional and the "isomorphic" systems will each hold their benefits. As to my own development, the piano keyboard was great to immerse myself in the world of polyphonic music, but - most likely aggravated through a total lack of teaching on this field - didn't offer an adequate "theoretical" understanding. Thus I had to teach myself quite intensely in later years. But in the end I feel totally at home on the piano and EC keyboards, both representing traditional staff notation in the most direct way.

As to my instrument my guess would be that the surface had been made of "ebonised" pearwood... (no varnish, the black colour has real invaded the wood, which nevertheless doesn't appear to be "real" ebony).

Well, I'm one of those who in fact are pushing their thumbs through the loops as far as they can go (to quote Jim). I didn't face any real problems to reach all the buttons from the very beginning. When supporting the right end with the (right) knee I don't use the pinkie rests any more, otherwise (whilst playing simpler tunes standing up) I support the ends with the palms and stabilize the instrument by using pinkie rests... This is just to say, it depends... You will have to find out your own way...

Can't locate it either. But here is what appears to be a Lachenal Excelsior 48k (similar to mine which is a very fine player) with quite a lot of wear (and thus not in any "good" condition as suggested). Might be an opportunity for restauration...

I always recommend Chris. He always has the greatest selection; his prices are fair; he's expert at fitting the instrument to a person's needs (both musical and financial); and if (at the moment) he doesn't have something that he believes will suit you, he'll say so and won't try to sell you something else. This is certainly real good and reliable advice - as long as you are inclined to buy a vintage model, which I would strongly recommend as long as you can afford it!

Well, for me there's a wide range with the concept of "comfort" - right up to its religious meaning. Since I might not draw real comfort out ot a tune I hardly ever manage to get through properly, I don't feel forced to restrict myself to the ease of playing OTOH. Might thus just turn out as some kind of "food for the soul" (as I believe Jim to have intended this first theme anyway).

This might be a starting point... Good luck with your search!

Thank you, Adrian, for delighting me once again! I used to love Dowland ever since I heard his music for the first time, but this is blissful in a special way... Best wishes - Wolf