Playing Hynms W/ Concertina

[chainyanker]

im interested in playing church hynms witn my concertina. i have mandage to get about a doven out and play them. ive herd Salvation Army had a tutor that they used. does anyone know i where i can pick one up? or any recordings of concertinas playing hynms? thanks

[groeswenphil]

If you play a C/G Anglo, I'd love to hear more.

Philip Edwards

[Peter Brook]

If you can read music the best thing would be to go to a Christian bookshop and see what they have.

 

Most old hymn tunes are very easy and there was a great deal of cross pollination of folk/church tunes for hymns and folk songs.

 

One of my friends sings a wonderful "Clemantine" (miner 49er etc) to the tune of "Bread of heaven" - the unofficial Welsh national anthem

[Robin Harrison]

A real cracker to play and sing is "Ye Who Would Valiant Be".........AKA To Be a Pilgrim. (576 in the Church Hymnary)

It has the added bonus of the tune being a traditional one collected by Ralph Vaughn-Williams at Monksgate and called Monksgate.The words are a poem by John Bunyan.

It plays very well on the anglo

Robin

[Larry Stout]

Paul de Ville's "The Concertina and How to Play It" (Carl Fischer, copyright 1905) has a whole section of Sacred Melodies at the end. Most are listed under the old names for hymn tunes (Old Hundred, Hebron, Peterborough, etc.) The music is for anglo concertina (CG is assumed) and gives a notation indicating which button to push and whether the note is push or draw.

 

Larry

[Animaterra]

This is a great question! A couple of times recently the organist at my tiny village church has been away and I've been asked to lead the music. I'm just learning chords and harmonies on my anglo, and haven't been brave enough to try it in that setting- it's a goal of mine.

 

I wish I could get my hands on that Paul de Ville book, Larry!

[Daniel Hersh]

im interested in playing church hynms witn my concertina. i have mandage to get about a doven out and play them. ive herd Salvation Army had a tutor that they used. does anyone know i where i can pick one up? or any recordings of concertinas playing hynms? thanks

 

Carol Denney ( http://www.caroldenney.com ) lives near me and sings and plays some shape-note hymns very nicely on English Concertina. Don't know if they're on any of her recordings, but you could e-mail her and ask--her e-mail address is on her site, which also includes some fine concertina humor at http://www.caroldenney.com/concerti.htm .

 

This is a great question! A couple of times recently the organist at my tiny village church has been away and I've been asked to lead the music. I'm just learning chords and harmonies on my anglo, and haven't been brave enough to try it in that setting- it's a goal of mine.

 

I wish I could get my hands on that Paul de Ville book, Larry!

 

The De Ville book is apparently in print and available from Carl Fischer directly at http://www.carlfischer.com or from a sheet music dealer such as http://www.jwpepper.com .

 

Daniel

Edited January 27, 2006 by Daniel Hersh

[chainyanker]

thanks

[groeswenphil]

I wish I could get my hands on that Paul de Ville book, Larry!

 

Me too...........any chance of a few page scans?

Phil Edwards

[JimLucas]

I wish I could get my hands on that Paul de Ville book, Larry!

Me too...........any chance of a few page scans?

That may even be legal. The book is still in print and widely available (does the Button Box carry it?), but the original copyright is 1905, so it may be past even renewal of the copyright.

 

The hymns, by the way, like the dance tunes, are printed as just the melody. If you want chords -- or words, -- you'll have to add them yourself.

[Mark Evans]

This is a great question! A couple of times recently the organist at my tiny village church has been away and I've been asked to lead the music. I'm just learning chords and harmonies on my anglo, and haven't been brave enough to try it in that setting- it's a goal of mine.

 

Allison, I was snagged unawares in a similar situation Monday. Each year we have a memorial mass for the Challenger crew. I had been asked to cantor and play my version of Amazing Grace on the concertina for the communion. Big suprise snow storm and I'm alone on the music. My colleague couldn't get out of his driveway.

 

The powers that be wanted a prelude which turned into 20 minutes. I found the guitar lead sheets and it was my salvation. I'll never "dis" chord symbols written above the melody line a la fakebooks again. The families all being of Irish descent, I liberally wove in Laments and airs.

 

I had to lead the entrance and going forth hymns a cappella and folks sang along. Unfortunately being a tenor, I nervously picked a rather high key for "Let there be peace on earth" and some folks had to drop the octave. It tickled the priest and he started giggling. Had I not been so panicked, the lead sheet could have been used, as block chords on the EC are pretty easy.

 

I was dissapointed that everyone thought it was just business as usual. There are a few more white hairs in my beard.

Edited January 28, 2006 by Mark Evans

[Animaterra]

Oh, Mark, I feel for you! What a beautiful service, though! My mother worked at my alma mater, Concord High School in Concord, NH, as the media center specialist, and was good friends with Christa MacAuliffe. She'll be pleased to know that Christa is still remembered in her hometown.

 

I didn't find the de Ville book at Carl Fischer or JWPepper, but when I "googled" it it turned up here at Amazon .

 

(Off-topic- go on Google today, the 27th, and see a funny tribute to W.A. Mozart on his 250th birthday!)

[JimLucas]

I didn't find the de Ville book at Carl Fischer or JWPepper, but when I "googled" it it turned up here at Amazon .

AbeBooks also has 5 listings at the moment, prices ranging from $19.95 to $35.

[Kurt Braun]

im interested in playing church hynms witn my concertina. i have mandage to get about a doven out and play them. ive herd Salvation Army had a tutor that they used. does anyone know i where i can pick one up? or any recordings of concertinas playing hynms? thanks

 

I love playing church hymns and other four-part pieces on the concertina (Crane Duet). I also have a copy of the Salvation Army Tutor, which does cover some of the aspects of playing four-parts on concertina. To my knowledge, it is not in print. However, it is not that useful anyway.

 

There is a recording of "My Country ‘Tis of Thee" on the tunes page. This is in four-parts, from a hymnal and played on a concertina.

 

I find old hymnals in abundance and for a song at used bookstores. Shaped note hymnals also have some really interesting stuff (though there are times when the melodies are in the inner voices making a nearly impossible challenge for the concertina). There are also hundreds of Bach Chorales that are absolutely stunning. The four-part literature is truly vast and could take several lifetimes to explore.

[Richard Morse]

The hymns, by the way, like the dance tunes, are printed as just the melody. If you want chords -- or words, -- you'll have to add them yourself.

There are a lot of hymn books out there with harmonies/chords/words. Look to flea markets and such where I've gotten them for about a buck apiece. Songs for Service, Alexander's Hymns #3, The Patron, Songs of the Kingdom, Voices of Praise, Praise Ye Lord, Harp of Judah, The Royal Singer.... In fact, I can't seem to find a book with melody ONLY!

 

I'm sure they'd be more at used bookstores. Just for a lark I searched for "hymnal" on AbeBooks.com and got 22,000 matches with over 100 for less than $1.

[Daniel Hersh]

I just found it again on both the Fischer and Pepper sites, priced at $11.95. Try entering "de ville" as author/composer and "concertina" as title.

 

Jim's point about this possibly being public domain now is an interesting one. Can anyone give a definitive answer?

 

Daniel

 

Oh, Mark, I feel for you! What a beautiful service, though! My mother worked at my alma mater, Concord High School in Concord, NH, as the media center specialist, and was good friends with Christa MacAuliffe. She'll be pleased to know that Christa is still remembered in her hometown.

 

I didn't find the de Ville book at Carl Fischer or JWPepper, but when I "googled" it it turned up here at Amazon .

 

(Off-topic- go on Google today, the 27th, and see a funny tribute to W.A. Mozart on his 250th birthday!)

[JimLucas]

The hymns, by the way, like the dance tunes, are printed as just the melody. If you want chords -- or words, -- you'll have to add them yourself.

There are a lot of hymn books out there with harmonies/chords/words.

Absolutely. The problem with those -- at least for a relative beginner -- is figuring out which arrangements, if any, can be played as written (or even transposed) on a 30-button anglo.

[Richard Morse]

The hymns, by the way, like the dance tunes, are printed as just the melody. If you want chords -- or words, -- you'll have to add them yourself.

There are a lot of hymn books out there with harmonies/chords/words.

Absolutely. The problem with those -- at least for a relative beginner -- is figuring out which arrangements, if any, can be played as written (or even transposed) on a 30-button anglo.

Right.... I've got a Hayden so it isn't usually a problem though sometimes when I really want a particular piece which was in some really difficult key, I scan it using SharpEye OCR, and export its midi result to NoteWorthy which lets me crank it into any key I want..