Is A Chemitzer An Anglo ?

[Daniel Hersh]

For what it is worth (not much), I'd lump the anglo, anglo-german, German, Chemnitzer, and bandoneon instruments as 'bisonoric concertinas', and the English, Hayden, and Crane duets as 'unisonoric concertinas'.

I think that most of us here agree on the unisonoric-bisonoric distinction. But such terms as "anglo" and "German" -- as I think this thread shows -- are at least as much cultural as technical, and each of those covers a subset (or different subsets, depending on who's using the term) of "bisonoric".

Not only that, there exists a rare beast called a unisonoric bandoneon to further complicate the issue.

[Daniel Hersh]

I suppose it's about time I speak up...

Sounds like you could sell at least one copy of Chemitzer International!

The instrument could use something like that. I don't know what would belong on it though...

 

And for that reason would probably be best put together by someone in or around Chicago.

They're dying fast here. Better hurry up.

Ted, I think that you do know what would belong on "LSGC International": a lot of the things you've brought to our attention here, including the Konzertina in Franken players, Siegfried Jugel, that Lithuanian bandoneon player, etc. You could probably name your favorite American players too. And I'd certainly want to include some of your own playing--I particularly like your recording of Peg O' My Heart...but whether anyone actually would want to take on all the work involved in such a project is of course another question.

 

That's sad news about Chicago. Do you knew any players under 60 in your area other than yourself? And are things any better in Wisconsin or Minnesota?

 

Daniel

[Alan Day]

The strange thing about putting these compilations together is they start to become a matter of urgency(As already said by Roger Digby on Concertina players) .Some of the players are between sixty and eighty and when they are not here it is too late.It is no good wishing in say ten years time, I wish someone had recorded all these lovely old players,some of which never recorded,or those that have been recorded the recording is so poor it cannot be used in a compilation.

Many of the old cassette tapes are deteriorating.I have spent over forty hours listening to some wonderful playing that many of you will never get a chance to hear as there is no way these recordings could be used .For the sake of future generations someone should seriously consider collecting and compiling this generation of players.

Graham and I would be delighted to assist anybody who would like to undertake this project and I agree with Chris Timson it needs to be compiled in America and certainly not by an Englishman living in the UK.

 

I am not going to publish the name of the person who has written this review as he is an old friend and in general it is a very good review.It would appear that he has made an error in his writing which I am certainly not going to point out to him,but somebody will.As for who we would have left off Anglo International to include these other players,there is nobody I would have left off. There is however a possible follow up to make the collection complete and this is being considered as a future smaller project.

 

Thanks for this wonderful and very comprehensive reply to my question.

Al

[JimLucas]

...a possible follow up to make the collection complete and this is being considered as a future smaller project.

Smaller? ...... Hope springs eternal!

[CaryK]

And for that reason would probably be best put together by someone in or around Chicago.

They're dying fast here. Better hurry up.

 

*LSGC: Large Square German Concertina

 

The Chemnitzer seems to be doing well in Buffalo, NY. There are a number of polka bands here where Chemnitzer players outnumber the PA players. I don't know if they represent a dying trend or an increasing popularity. In this area, Chemnitzers are just referred to as "concertinas" by the general public. See the web page for the Buffalo Concertina All-Stars.

http://www.geocities.com/buffaloconcertina...tars/index.html

[Chris Timson]

There is however a possible follow up to make the collection complete and this is being considered as a future smaller project.

Anglo Interplanetary?

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

There is however a possible follow up to make the collection complete and this is being considered as a future smaller project.

Anglo Interplanetary?

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Anglo!

 

[Alan Day]

There is however a possible follow up to make the collection complete and this is being considered as a future smaller project.

Anglo Interplanetary?

 

Chris

 

What a strange coincidence Chris.

Just today "The Clangers" have agreed to send in a recording for

"Swanee Whistle Interplanetary"

I tried to contact David Bowie for his contribution, but he is still floating around up there.

Al

Edited to ask could a Swanee Whistle be classed as a small trombone?

I do not want to miss anybody out.

Edited June 11, 2006 by Alan Day

[JimLucas]

Just today "The Clangers" have agreed to send in a recording for "Swanee Whistle Interplanetary"

 

Edited to ask could a Swanee Whistle be classed as a small trombone?

I do not want to miss anybody out.

Was there a prior announcement of this project that I missed?

 

The "trombone" query leads me to suspect that a "Swanee Whistle" is what I know as a "slide whistle". (A quick Google confirms this.)

 

My friend Tom, otherwise a fine guitarist, used to do a sonata -- by Telemann, if I recall correctly -- on slide whistle. What I don't remember is whether I ever recorded it. If I find a recording, I'll be sure to send it to you.

[Boney]

Just today "The Clangers" have agreed to send in a recording for "Swanee Whistle Interplanetary"

 

Edited to ask could a Swanee Whistle be classed as a small trombone?

Only if you buzz your lips into the mouthpiece...Hm, I'll have to try that.

 

Make sure there's some Hezzie on your compilation!

[Alan Day]

Just today "The Clangers" have agreed to send in a recording for "Swanee Whistle Interplanetary"

 

Edited to ask could a Swanee Whistle be classed as a small trombone?

Only if you buzz your lips into the mouthpiece...Hm, I'll have to try that.

 

Make sure there's some Hezzie on your compilation!

 

Fantastic Boney,what a great recording

Al

[Theodore Kloba]

Ted, I think that you do know what would belong on "LSGC International": a lot of the things you've brought to our attention here, including the Konzertina in Franken players, Siegfried Jugel, that Lithuanian bandoneon player, etc. You could probably name your favorite American players too. And I'd certainly want to include some of your own playing.

I'm sure there's a lot out there that I dont know about, especially in the US! (There are quite a few good players in Lithuania, both on Bandonija and Koncertina. The one in the video was posted here not because it was such a great example, but because video is so hard to find.)

 

Since LSGCs include bandonions, would we include some Tango players? I'm particularly fond of Daniele di Bonaventura's work; he stretches the limits of the instrument and Tango... His song, "Canto al Sole" is one of my all-time favorites of any type of music.

 

If someone else handles the finance, organizing and intricacies of international licensing, I could help with: locating candidate selections for the compilation; creating cover art; editing & mastering; my own recordings.

 

That's sad news about Chicago. Do you knew any players under 60 in your area other than yourself? And are things any better in Wisconsin or Minnesota?

Within my club's membership, there's one player in his 40s, and a 15-year old who's the grandson of a recently-deceased member. There are some well-known polka bands (e.g. Freeze Dried) with younger players, but the music hasn't really appealed to me enough to seek it out.

 

I'm not sure about WI or MN; there seemed to be a few younger players at the few events I've attended. I haven't actively sought out that community either, for the same reason: I don't feel a connection to their musical tradition.

 

For the sake of future generations someone should seriously consider collecting and compiling this generation of players.

Graham and I would be delighted to assist anybody who would like to undertake this project and I agree with Chris Timson it needs to be compiled in America and certainly not by an Englishman living in the UK.

Maybe someone within the "World" Concertina Congress would be interested in identifying candidate recordings.

 

The Chemnitzer seems to be doing well in Buffalo, NY. There are a number of polka bands here where Chemnitzer players outnumber the PA players. I don't know if they represent a dying trend or an increasing popularity. In this area, Chemnitzers are just referred to as "concertinas" by the general public. See the web page for the Buffalo Concertina All-Stars.

I've seen the All-Stars' page... Too bad there are no sound samples.

 

Maybe the instrument isn't in decline in Chicago either, but certain playing styles and a part of the repertoire certainly are; that's what needs to be preserved in a recording.

Edited June 12, 2006 by Theodore Kloba

[JimLucas]

I'm sure there's a lot out there that I dont know about, especially in the US!

Ah, but others would flood you with information... and you would learn!

 

Since LSGCs include bandonions, would we include some Tango players?

My opinion: Of course!

 

A couple of suggestions on the bandonion side would be

... Klaus Gutjahr - Germany: Bach to tango, proably more

... Bertram Levy - famous American anglo concertina player who more recently fell in love with tangos and has since concentrated on the bandonion

 

I could also connect to some other players in Germany, though German C.net members are likely to be one step closer to them. I could probably even dig up a couple in Scandinavia if I tried.

 

There are some well-known polka bands (e.g. Freeze Dried) with younger players, but the music hasn't really appealed to me enough to seek it out.

Whoever takes on such a project would almost certainly have to listen to a number of polka bands and select a few cuts, whether they really love the music or not. Better, probably, would be to make contact with a couple of prominent polka personalities and get them to make those choices. Ditto for other traditions.

 

For the sake of future generations someone should seriously consider collecting and compiling this generation of players.

Graham and I would be delighted to assist anybody who would like to undertake this project....

Beware, Theodore. That sounds suspiciously like an offer that would be worth accepting.

[Alan Day]

Once you start these projects Theodore a number of people will offer their services to help,particularly members of this site who are second to none.

There was an excellent posting about a Concertina Inn in America on this site with loads of photos,I remember that the owner played the Chemitzer.If you need any assistance from this end on Europian players

I would be pleased to investigate that for you ,or ar least find someone who knows more about the subject than I do. There may be some Reuben Shaw recordings about for example.

The difficulty is however the financial backing as these compilations can be expensive,unless you use a lot of archive material or players offer their recordings free.

Very good luck from here.

Al

[Theodore Kloba]

As much as I would like to volunteer, there really is no way I can get involved right now. I barely have enough time to practice as it is. Aside from the Jody Kruskal tune I recorded to share with C.net recently, I haven't really recorded anything of my own since 2002.

 

I might try recording some of the players I know from my club, and preserve the recordings in case the project got started by others.

[John Wild]

The "trombone" query leads me to suspect that a "Swanee Whistle" is what I know as a "slide whistle". (A quick Google confirms this.)

 

Monday night's edition of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue on BBC Radio 4 included the popular round of Swanee-Kazoo, featuring one player on swanee whistle duetting with another player on kazoo. Tonight's piece of music for the duet was Cinderella Rockefella.

 

If you missed it, the program is repeated next Sunday at 12 noon, and should be available on the listen again feature on the BBC website bbc.co.uk

 

- John Wild

[Alan Day]

Once you start these projects Theodore a number of people will offer their services to help,particularly members of this site who are second to none.

There was an excellent posting about a Concertina Inn in America on this site with loads of photos,I remember that the owner played the Chemitzer.If you need any assistance from this end on Europian players

I would be pleased to investigate that for you ,or ar least find someone who knows more about the subject than I do. There may be some Reuben Shaw recordings about for example.

The difficulty is however the financial backing as these compilations can be expensive,unless you use a lot of archive material or players offer their recordings free.

Very good luck from here.

Al

Sorry, for Reuben Shaw insert Pat Robson, for some reason, only known to me, I get these two mixed up

As I have said on a previous thread Scan Tester also played the Bandonion,but I do not know if any recordings of him playing one exist.

Al

[Stephen Chambers]

... one ... on Chemitzers etc I will leave to somebody else.Certainly it would not be a bad idea for someone to put a CD of this music together if one does not exist.

There may not be CDs "in all the record shops", but there's some amazing Bandonion/Chemnitzer music available, if you're prepared to dig it out:

 

As I've mentioned a few times before; thankfully there is an entire glorious album of Siegfried Jugel's playing, in fact you can even listen to extracts from five pieces if you follow the link below:

 

I would thoroughly recommend the wonderful album "Erinnerungen" ("Memories") by the Chemnitz concertina and Bandonion player Siegfried Jugel, which was brought out in connection with the Exhibition (price Euro 10.00), you can even hear extracts of five tracks from it on the main website. (Follow this link.) It was a great joy to meet and hear Siegfried, he makes the large German concertina sound like a Duet, he is possibly the last of the great players of these instruments [in Germany], having learnt from his father.

Since LSGCs include bandonions, would we include some Tango players?

My opinion: Of course!

 

... suggestions on the bandonion side ...

... Klaus Gutjahr - Germany: Bach to tango, probably more

When I was at Michaelstein in 1999 I got a privately-released album from Klaus Gutjahr, on which he plays just that.

 

And let me add another of my favourites; "Bandoneon Pure: Dances Of Uruguay" by René Marino Rivero, it's on the Smithsonian/Folkways label, SM106-2, and comes with copious notes (an 80-page booklet no less!) by Maria Dunkel. Wonderful stuff!

 

edited for speeling

Edited September 27, 2008 by Stephen Chambers