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History Of Concertina Playing In Ireland


Dan Worrall

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In doing some other research lately, I've unearthed a few additional significant items relating to the history of Irish concertina playing. Rather than revise the original article (Beginnings of Concertina Playing in Ireland, 1834-1930), I've added a brief Addendum, which can be downloaded here: http://www.angloconcertina.org/Irish.html

 

The additions include copies of several advertisements that now place the arrival of the German concertina in Ireland back at least as far as the early 1850s. This is not at all a surprise, of course, but it is nice to have the documents to clearly show it. In the original article I could only firmly document their sale there as early as 1860 (but the arrival of English concertinas much earlier). I would imagine that German concertinas showed up very nearly as early in Ireland as they did in England (as early as 1846), but don't know if the documents will ever be found to back up that assertion. These newly found adverts are not earth-shattering, but if you are 'into' the anglo's history you may find them of interest.

 

Also included is part of a brief article from 1917 describing an encounter amongst a visiting English journalist, a old Irish concertina 'bard', and the police, in Kilkenny. The interesting bit is the description of the 'soft' and alluring style of the Irish musician's playing on an otherwise "awful" instrument (the journalist's words, not mine!). Again, not earth-shattering, but perhaps of some interest to history buffs. I couldn't just leave it buried within my PC.

 

Cheers,

Dan

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... The interesting bit is the description of the 'soft' and alluring style of the Irish musician's playing on an otherwise "awful" instrument (the journalist's words, not mine!)...

Dan

 

Seem like British journalists attitudes to traditional music were much the same 100 years ago as they are today. :o

 

Geoff

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... The interesting bit is the description of the 'soft' and alluring style of the Irish musician's playing on an otherwise "awful" instrument (the journalist's words, not mine!)...

Dan

 

Seem like British journalists attitudes to traditional music were much the same 100 years ago as they are today. :o

 

Geoff

 

You mean the concetina, as one is accustomed to hearing it played in England, still sounds "awful", but played by an Irish musician it still sounds "soft and alluring"? :P

 

The person quoted must have heard something other than what is commonly regarded as "ITM" concertina today. I wouldn't call reels played too fast "soft and alluring". He probably heard someone rendering an old Irish ballad - which really is the strong suit of the Anglo!

 

Cheers,

John

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... The interesting bit is the description of the 'soft' and alluring style of the Irish musician's playing on an otherwise "awful" instrument (the journalist's words, not mine!)...

Dan

Seem like British journalists attitudes to traditional music were much the same 100 years ago as they are today. :o

You mean the concetina, as one is accustomed to hearing it played in England, still sounds "awful", but played by an Irish musician it still sounds "soft and alluring"? :P

 

The person quoted must have heard something other than what is commonly regarded as "ITM" concertina today. I wouldn't call reels played too fast "soft and alluring". He probably heard someone rendering an old Irish ballad - which really is the strong suit of the Anglo!

Well maybe that's what they first heard him play, but according to the writer "we called upon him to give us some Irish airs. He played "The Soldier's Song" and, at the request of an Irishman who had not visited Ireland for thirty years and was feeling sentimental, "The Wearing of the Green" and other melodies", in which case both the named tunes are rousing patriotic/rebel marches (so not exactly "soft and alluring"), in fact the chorus of the first one, translated into Irish by Liam Ó Rinn as "Amhrán na bhFiann", has been the Irish National Anthem since 1926. "The Soldier's Song" was first published in the newspaper Irish Freedom in 1912, but it was not widely known until it was sung during the Easter Rising of 1916, and later at various camps in which Republicans were interned, so the playing of it would have been considered highly controversial, if not downright treasonable in 1917.

 

These are the original words in English, written by Brendan Behan's uncle Peadar Kearney (1883-1942) in 1907:

 

The Soldier's Song

 

We'll sing a song, a soldier's song,

With cheering rousing chorus,

As round our blazing fires we throng,

The starry heavens o'er us;

Impatient for the coming fight,

And as we wait the morning's light,

Here in the silence of the night,

We'll chant a soldier's song.

 

Chorus:

Soldiers are we

whose lives are pledged to Ireland;

Some have come

from a land beyond the wave.

Sworn to be free,

No more our ancient sire land

Shall shelter the despot or the slave.

Tonight we man the gap of danger

In Erin's cause, come woe or weal

'Mid cannons' roar and rifles peal,

We'll chant a soldier's song.

 

In valley green, on towering crag,

Our fathers fought before us,

And conquered 'neath the same old flag

That's proudly floating o'er us.

We're children of a fighting race,

That never yet has known disgrace,

And as we march, the foe to face,

We'll chant a soldier's song.

 

Chorus

 

Sons of the Gael! Men of the Pale!

The long watched day is breaking;

The serried ranks of Inisfail

Shall set the Tyrant quaking.

Our camp fires now are burning low;

See in the east a silv'ry glow,

Out yonder waits the Saxon foe,

So chant a soldier's song.

 

Chorus

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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Scates sold this business to George Case in 1850, and moved to Dublin, where he opened a shop at 28 Westmoreland Green.
This advertisement shows that Bray was in business in Dublin as early as 1852, selling English system concertinas (no mention yet of German ones). His next door neighbor was Joseph Scates at 28 Westmoreland. Scates was a resident there from 1850, according to Stephen Chambers' examination of Dublin street records. It is a bit of a puzzle that Bray is selling, amongst other items, Scates' London made English system concertinas even while Scates has set up shop next door. Later advertisements contained in the main article clearly show that the two men were competitors in the Dublin musical instruments trade.

Not quite, Stephen Chambers' examination of Dublin street records reveals that Scates was a "Professor of the Concertina" at 28, Westmoreland Street in 1850-51, but he had already set up shop at 26, College Green by 1852 (though that is only around the corner from Westmoreland Street), whilst John Bray "pianoforte and music warehouse" is already listed at 26, Westmoreland Street in my New City Pictorial Directory 1850 and John A. Parkinson's Victorian Music Publishers suggests that Bray was at that address ca. 1840-70. Also, Dublin street numbers don't run "odds and evens" on opposite sides of the street, so 26, and 28, Westmoreland Street are next-door-but-one to each other. ;)

 

But to confuse matters a little more, I have a baritone Scates numbered 538, with the label "IMPROVED PATENT by JOSEPH SCATES, FROM New Bond Street, LONDON. SOLD BY MARCUS MOSES 4 & 5, WESTMORELAND STREET, DUBLIN." So early-on he evidently also sold some concertinas through the prominent dealer Marcus Moses' large "London pianoforte and harp warehouse" on Westmoreland Street too!

 

Mind you, it must have been a popular street for the music trade at the time, altogether more fashionable than Capel Street, where my own John McNeill music shop (then "military musical instrument maker") was, as there was also Robinson & Bussell "music ware-rooms" at 7, Westmoreland Street.

 

Edited to change "he" to "Bray" in my first paragraph.

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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Scates sold this business to George Case in 1850, and moved to Dublin, where he opened a shop at 28 Westmoreland Green.
This advertisement shows that Bray was in business in Dublin as early as 1852, selling English system concertinas (no mention yet of German ones). His next door neighbor was Joseph Scates at 28 Westmoreland. Scates was a resident there from 1850, according to Stephen Chambers’ examination of Dublin street records. It is a bit of a puzzle that Bray is selling, amongst other items, Scates’ London made English system concertinas even while Scates has set up shop next door. Later advertisements contained in the main article clearly show that the two men were competitors in the Dublin musical instruments trade.

Not quite, Stephen Chambers’ examination of Dublin street records reveals that Scates was a "Professor of the Concertina" at 28, Westmoreland Street in 1850-51, but he had already set up shop at 26, College Green by 1852 (though that is only around the corner from Westmoreland Street), whilst John Bray "pianoforte and music warehouse" is already listed at 26, Westmoreland Street in my New City Pictorial Directory 1850 and John A. Parkinson's Victorian Music Publishers suggests that he was at that address ca. 1840-70. Also, Dublin street numbers don't run "odds and evens" on opposite sides of the street, so 26, and 28, Westmoreland Street are next-door-but-one to each other. ;)

 

But to confuse matters a little more, I have a baritone Scates numbered 538, with the label "IMPROVED PATENT by JOSEPH SCATES, FROM New Bond Street, LONDON. SOLD BY MARCUS MOSES 4 & 5, WESTMORELAND STREET, DUBLIN." So early-on he evidently also sold some concertinas through the prominent dealer Marcus Moses large "London pianoforte and harp warehouse" on Westmoreland Street too!

And to confuse matters yet more still, there are a whole rat's nest of addresses associated with Scates and his sold instruments in the 1850s:

28 Westmoreland (ad)

26 College Green (that ad is in the Addendum)

46 Grafton Street

11 Wellington Street

22 Rathmines Rd (prob a residence)

27 College Green and 8 Church Lane (corner store)

And then in the 1860s

15 Westmoreland

2 Belgrave Sq North (res)

2 Goldsmith Terrace (res)

 

He seems to have been one step ahead of the landlord for much of this time! I know that Chris Flint has been working on sorting out Scates, and hope he will find a way to publish his findings. The main thing to me is that he was there by about 1850, seems to have been selling English concertinas from the outset, and was selling German concertinas as early as 1854. If you have any info that would push that date back further, I'd be very pleased to know it.

 

Thanks for the 1850 date on Bray, which pushes him two years further back from my 1852 ad (although not known whether he was pushing English concertinas that early). Bray seems to have stayed put at 26 Westmoreland at least through the early 1860s (see ad in my Irish article), so am uncertain about Parkinson's Victorian Music Publishers being there 1840-70, unless each had a small shop within a larger building.

 

Not sure what 'next-door-but-one to each other' means, could you elaborate?

 

I've posted a few other ads I've collected on these two (various addresses for Scates), just for fun; maybe Chris can use them. It was never difficult in Ireland to get a German concertina, at least from 1854! Steven, what do you make of the piano concertina Scates is selling in 1863?

 

Cheers,

Dan

 

ps. will take two posts for the attachments. These here are dated 1861, 1862, 1863, respectively.

post-976-1213030366_thumb.jpg post-976-1213030403_thumb.jpg

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here are the rest, dated 1861, 1865, 1870.

 

 

 

By the way, on the subject of treasonous music, it seems to have been a recurring problem, as a high percentage of Irish popular songs of the era were either overtly or subversively anti-occupation. The concertina player arrested in Nenagh in 1868 (see my Irish article) was playing Fenian rebellion tunes and arrested, even though the rebellion was over the previous year. The fellows marching with a concertina around the village of Tuamgraney Clare in 1917 were arrested for military drilling....when they likely had civil protest more in mind (although German concertina playing has long been considered a deadly weapon by some!). Nice to have more peaceful and friendly days today.

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Hi

Scates was at a couple of addresses in Liverpool 1849/50, at Leinster Street Dublin Oct 1850,he was also in Doncaster from Nov 1851 to Sept 1852 and had a Belfast address May 1851 (of 28, Westmorland Street). He didn't believe in standing still :ph34r:

Thanks for the thought Dan - I ploughed thru nearly 2000 newspaper entries ( I must be mad!!)

 

chris

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Scates was at a couple of addresses in Liverpool 1849/50, at Leinster Street Dublin Oct 1850,he was also in Doncaster from Nov 1851 to Sept 1852 ... He didn't believe in standing still :ph34r:

chris,

 

Indeed so, in fact I've sometimes wondered if he hadn't mastered bilocation! :unsure:

 

For one thing there was an instrument labelled "Joseph Scates, From New Bond St., London. 85, Renshaw Street, Liverpool", number C18 (192) in the old (Neil Wayne) Concertina Museum Collection (so presumably now at the Horniman Museum?), and then I was also amazed to find him listed at High Street, Doncaster in the 1852 Gazetteer and General Directory of Sheffield by William White, via the www.historicaldirectories.org/ website... :blink:

 

By the way, on that site you will also find him listed in both Kelly's Directory of Sussex 1890, and Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex (Part 4) 1891 at 59, Freshfield Road, Kemp Town, Brighton, the same address as the 1891 Census.

 

he ... had a Belfast address May 1851 (of 28, Westmorland Street).

I think you mean 27, Chichester Street? ;)

 

Edited to correct misread 8, going cross-eyed in the wee small hours! :wacko:

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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Thanks for the 1850 date on Bray, which pushes him two years further back from my 1852 ad (although not known whether he was pushing English concertinas that early). Bray seems to have stayed put at 26 Westmoreland at least through the early 1860s (see ad in my Irish article), so am uncertain about Parkinson's Victorian Music Publishers being there 1840-70, unless each had a small shop within a larger building.

Dan,

 

John A. Parkinson was Senior Research Assistant in the music section of the British Library, his book Victorian Music Publishers (1990) that I was citing is a valuable standard reference work on the trade at that time - I've changed my "he" to "Bray" to clarify my meaning, but basically the book says that Bray was there from about 1840 to around 1870.

 

Not sure what 'next-door-but-one to each other' means, could you elaborate?

wntrmute has beaten me to that, but my point was that Bray and Scates were not exactly "next door", they were two doors away from each other, and that Scates doesn't seem to have had a shop in competition with Bray at 28, Westmoreland Street (which was "Samuel J. Machen, publisher" in the 1850 New City Pictorial Directory), but only advertised himself as a "Professor of the Concertina" there.

 

Steven, what do you make of the piano concertina Scates is selling in 1863?

Funnily enough, I answered that question three weeks ago :huh: :

 

In April 1862 Joseph Scates advertised in The Freemans Journal and Commercial Advertiser -

'THE NEW PIANO CONCERTINA

Joseph Scates invites attention to this new description of Concertina,

the stops of which are arranged in the same manner as on the Pianoforte...............

25s, 30s, and 42s'

... this may be related

I'm sure Scates' advertisement must be related to the 1862 Rust Patent, from which the Jedcertina and these German "Chromatic Concertinas" later derived.

 

WW: ... what is the Rust system?

 

BH: The Rust system, patented in 1862, is a variation of the Piano system ...

I should maybe point out (though it's probably much too late now :rolleyes: ) that though it was Charles Frederick William Rust who took out the British Patent, he was only acting as agent for the German inventor of the system, Ferdinand Glier - since it was necessary to be a resident in order to take out a British Patent.

 

So such instruments should really be described as the "Glier system" - but I don't suppose it'll catch on ... :unsure:

 

Cheers,

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So, this just to recap and clean up on old Scates...thanks Stephen, wntrmte, and Chris for your help. Picking up from Scates' arrival in Ireland (and focusing on sales of the German concertina....I leave the EC to you!),

 

Scates seems to have been in Dublin from 1850. Street records show that his earliest recorded musical instrument shop in Dublin, at 26 College Green, was open for business as early as 1852. Although he is listed as a 'Professor of the Concertina' at 28 Westmoreland Street in 1850-1851; it is uncertain whether he sold instruments from that earlier location. He exhibited English concertinas of his own and Wheatstone's make in the Dublin Exhibition of 1853, and also sold imported German concertinas at least as early as 1854 at the College Green location. He subsequently moved to a number of different business locations before selling his trade in 1865, by then located at 15 Westmoreland Street, to Cramer and Company of London. Scates eventually returned to England, where he died in 1899 at age 81.

 

John Bray operated a Harp, Pianoforte, Military Musical Instrument, and Music Warehouse in the same neighborhood by 1850, and probably as early as 1840, at 26 Westmoreland Street. At that shop he sold English concertinas made by Scates and Wheatstone, at least as early as 1852, and German concertinas at least as early as 1861 (and perhaps much earlier). He retired from the trade in 1870, at the same location. (Note: I have no death date for him.)

 

Tutors for the German concertina, published by Davidson's firm in London, were available in Dublin at J. Wiseheart, 23 Suffolk Street, in 1853. This suggests that these instruments were available for sale in Ireland at least as early as that year, probably by either Scates or Bray, or both.

 

I'll make the edits to the Addendum.

 

Cheers, and again thanks,

Dan

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Hi Dan

My Scates 'english' has a label with 28, Westmoreland Street Dublin. Whether it was made by him or is a rebadged something else I don't know - my interest started with the question 'who actually made my concertina!'

Bear in mind that there are concertinas about with addresses from earlier than 1850- see the one that Stephen mention (85 Renshaw Street) there is also one with 46, Grafton Street about (early 1850)

chris

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