Delbert Blackketter Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 (edited) All, I think that a banjo sounds really good with concertina. Just the two of them. I have a CD of a German band 'Dereelium' with that arrangement (banjo plucked, not finger style). Any other examples out there of just these two instruments in a recording? Or concertina plus only one other instrument? Del Edited January 13, 2004 by Delbert Blackketter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Harp sounds good too (ie. the Nervous Man CD) I've also heard great music with concertina and fiddle, and concertina and Piano. I'd be very interested to hear concertina and Ulliean pipes together. Cheers Morgana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan atlas Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 FOLKS: the concertina-harp combination was well known in the 19th century. . . .there's a whole little sub-repertory for the instrument. . . . .Berlioz in particular praised the combination. . . . . .and dave townsend has a concertina-harp track on one of his CDs................allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Malcolm Dalglish and Grey Larsen come to mind. Hammered dulcimer and primarilly english concertina on "Banish Misfortune" 1977 and HD and more anglo in subsequent recordings in more of a band format as Metamora. An interesting combo in that the hammered dulcimer is a percussion instrument and the staccato attack on english and particularly anglo tends toward percussion too. Hammering and honking and good music. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reid Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I'd be very interested to hear concertina and Ulliean pipes together. Then I highly recommend "Callan Bridge," a 2002 CD by the Vallely brothers, Niall and Cillian, on anglo and ulliean pipes, respectively. A lovely mixture of some less-common traditional tunes and originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 One instrument that sounds good with a concertina is.......another concertina! I find concertina band music a little overwhelming for my taste, but two or three concertinas played together can sound pretty effective. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Madden Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I often play my English with a friend who is very accomplished at the autoharp. Anytime this happens in public, we tend to stop traffic. The two instruments complement each other perfectly. If we pick the right tune and the right tempo (waltzes easily, reels after more attention), he can match me note for note on the melody. Any embellishments I add really stand out, and his instrument produces natural harmony lines. We have played other instruments together for 20+ years and I am sure that this helps a lot. Still, a good autoharp player can make a middlin' concertina player sound pretty darn good. Dan Madden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Root Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 My wife and I often play two English concertinas, one treble and one baritone. When we both play trebles it sometimes blends too much and we can't hear ourselves well enough individually. Concertina sounds particularly good with 'cello. When I learn some country-western tunes, I will attempt to see how the concertina sounds with the concert zither... -Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I can't think of any instrument that the concertina does not sound good with. Well, maybe Norwegian seljeflojte or Rumanian tulinka, both of which have a scale built as a harmonic series, which is very different from a diatonic or chromatic scale, tempered or not. I wish I had a recording of the night two friends and I improvised an "arrangement" of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" on English concertina, cello, and musical saw. We got a standing ovation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I personally think any plucker will sound good (banjo, mandolin, harp ... whatever) but don't have many opportunities to try this out. I own an autoharp but play it so rarely I have to tune it up each time - if only I could clone myself I could ... erm ... play with myself ! Samantha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Werner Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hi folks: As strange as I first thought when approached with the idea, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how amazingly and interestingly good I/we sounded when playing christmas carol duets at a recent party with a bassoonist!!! Interesting sonorities (especially when I played the correct notes), but who would have thunk it. I thought maybe I was'nt listening closely enough or maybe I thought that anyone I played with would make me sound good, but when all was said and done, this wonderful bassoonist agreed that it was a first for him and he was shocked to find how well the combination sounded. Must have something to do with the combination of the free reeds and the double reed! We plan on doing something together real soon. It was an unexpected pleasure and a real "blast" Made me wonder about other interesting and strange concertina and other instrument combinations. Best, Perry Werner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 ...I was pleasantly surprised to find out how amazingly and interestingly good I/we sounded when playing christmas carol duets at a recent party with a bassoonist!!! ...who would have thunk it. I would have. Definitely. I have found that a good concertina sounds great with just about any other instrument: violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo, wooden or silver flute, oboe, harp, piano, whistle, trumpet, saxophone, various sorts of bagpipes, etc., etc. And with various combinations of other instruments, too, including (as I've already mentioned) cello and musical saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Then I highly recommend "Callan Bridge," a 2002 CD by the Vallely brothers, Niall and Cillian, on anglo and ulliean pipes, respectively. A lovely mixture of some less-common traditional tunes and originals. Hi Michael, Thanks for the recommendation - I've ordered it and it's on it's way Cheers Morgana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 (edited) [snip] ... As strange as I first thought when approached with the idea, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how amazingly and interestingly good I/we sounded when playing christmas carol duets at a recent party with a bassoonist!!! Interesting sonorities (especially when I played the correct notes), but who would have thunk it. ... [snip] I'd quite forgotten that I've recently begun to play my Bb/F Jeffries with a couple of clarinettists. Usually we play trios with me providing the bass line on my French Horn, but the "home" keys of my latest concertina suggested this new version of the trio, and I get to play the tunes! It sounds great. I am also in the process of arranging some chords to go with a clarinet duet written by Clarinet 1's brother, originally with piano accompaniment, now mislaid. The piece has a "tudor" feel to it, and open fifths/octaves etc seem to be the way to go here. Samantha PS The Jeffries easily has enough volume to drown out two clarinets, by the way! PPS Oh, and just after midnight on New Year's Day the boyfriend and I went serenading on neighbours' doorsteps, playing Auld Lang Syne on Flugel Horn and concertina! S (Edited to remove an excess "by the way", by the way ! Edited January 14, 2004 by Samantha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 PPS Oh, and just after midnight on New Year's Day the boyfriend and I went serenading on neighbours' doorsteps, playing Auld Lang Syne on Flugel Horn and concertina! I'd be interested to know how that went down in sunny Kilmory! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 I'd be interested to know how that went down in sunny Kilmory! Chris Very well, thank you! We were indulging in the Scottish practice of "first-footing" which demands that you go visiting your neighbours in the wee small hours of New Year's Day with a bottle of whisky in your pocket so that you can offer a drink to your hosts in return for the drink they offer you. We got home at 3.30am . Samantha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrigglefingers Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 My daughter and I tried concertina and french horn the other day. After a small squabble as to who played what (well we are 14 and 43 respectively) it sounded good especially as I couldn't hear myself play.... I offered to play again another day but she just laughed (unlike our neighbours). One combination I like is melodeon and concertina demonstrated to perfection by Rob Harbron and Tim van Eyck on One Sunday Afternoon - my album of the year last year. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'm surprised there's been so little mention here of what I think is a classic combination: concertina and fiddle. Listen to the first "Swallowtail" album where George Marshall (EC) and Ron Grosslein (fiddle) launch into "Bay of Fundy" without any other instruments playing, or Tom Kruskal (Anglo) and Jim Morrison (fiddle) on the album, "Round Pond Relics." My delay in responding to this thread is due to my having been away last week with limited access to the internet. One night, however, I had a chance to play my concertina with a violinist who didn't know any "tunes" but was able to follow the simple ones I started with ("The Ash Grove," "Glise de Sherbrooke," etc.) and then we moved on to folk songs from the 60s (Peter, Paul & Mary, etc.) and finally classical music. All (of course) with nothing on paper. The whole thing took about three hours and was a wonderful reaffirmation of the magical qualities of the combination of concertina/fiddle (and other things). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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