Ptarmigan Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) I've just learned that two Concertina players appeared on Phil Cunningham's Gracenotes TV show last Saturday night. Thanks to Simon Thoumire for the nod on this. Unfortunately I didn't see it myself, ......... but I'm actually watching it now on iPlayer: Phil Cunningham's Gracenotes 38.00 to 42.00 Mins. Fantastic to see GORDON HAXTON & PETER DONALD playing such wonderful Concertinas & hearing about the use of the Concertina at evangelical meetings. You can read more about this tradition over at The Concertina as an Instrument of Sacred Music ~ S. Eydmann Cheers Dick Edited February 23, 2009 by Ptarmigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LangoLee Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Aye, there was already a thread on this, but it got posted in the news forum. Interesting programme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Aye, there was already a thread on this, but it got posted in the news forum. Interesting programme. Oooops I must confess, I rarely check that board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) Here's a great photo of Gordon & Peter playing their Concertinas with Phil on the Big Box, thanks to Stuart Eydmann, who was the consultant for that section of the programme. GORDON HAXTON, PHIL CUNNINGHAM & PETER DONALD Cheers Dick Edited February 23, 2009 by Ptarmigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LangoLee Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I noticed the sly way that Cunningham referred to 'the squeezebox' when introducing that section, thus glossing over the mortal enmity between concertina and piano accordion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) I noticed the sly way that Cunningham referred to 'the squeezebox' when introducing that section, thus glossing over the mortal enmity between concertina and piano accordion. I always think of a Concertina as a graceful BALLET DANCER .... & a Piano Accordion as a MORRIS DANCER with HOB NAILED BOOTS! Edited February 23, 2009 by Ptarmigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Here's another great photo of those Concertinas Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Here's another great photo of those Concertinas Cheers Dick ... and an accordion that seems to be fitted with some sort of midi device! Great photos - thanks for the link. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 ... and an accordion that seems to be fitted with some sort of midi device! Pete Pete, perhaps it's a Satellite Tracking Device! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereward Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) Pete, perhaps it's a Satellite Tracking Device! But then you would never be able to lose it... Ian Edited February 24, 2009 by Hereward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 the mortal enmity between concertina and piano accordion. So why the friction between concertina and piano accordion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 So why the friction between concertina and piano accordion? I'm afraid, ma'am, it's not as simple as that. Is the friction between piano accordion and ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT. Seriously, piano accordionists are renowned for their ability - not always - to ruin any session by the means of their loudness and self-accompaniment that often clashes with guitar or piano players. I must say, however, that I saw this man playing in Madrid with Aly Bain and was a memorable concert. The only negative - if so - point was that they always make the same horrible jokes and puns And, yes; the thing attached is a MIDI device. It makes the basses of the accordion sound like a piano. Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LangoLee Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) So why the friction between concertina and piano accordion? Well, that was a half-joke. I have nothing personally against the piano accordion (separating this from the melodeon/diatonic here), and it is used in interesting ways in many genres of music, but at the same time, viewed in historical Darwinian terms (On the Origin of Musical Instruments by Means of Natural Selection?), it can be seen as contributing to the near-extinction of the concertina (prior to the conservation work of the post-war folk revival), becoming more popular since it was louder, slicker, permitted one-button chords, had a right-hand key layout visually reminiscent of a piano, and was thus more suited to the brash commercial environment of 20th-century music-making. Of course, some might argue that the accordion itself was latterly superseded (in terms of critical mass and use in popular music) by electronic keyboards and synthesisers. Edited February 24, 2009 by LangoLee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Van Donsel Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Darn. The BBC forbids overseas viewing of their video content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptarmigan Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 So why the friction between concertina and piano accordion? I'm afraid, ma'am, it's not as simple as that. Is the friction between piano accordion and ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT. Seriously, piano accordionists are renowned for their ability - not always - to ruin any session by the means of their loudness and self-accompaniment that often clashes with guitar or piano players. I must say, however, that I saw this man playing in Madrid with Aly Bain and was a memorable concert. The only negative - if so - point was that they always make the same horrible jokes and puns And, yes; the thing attached is a MIDI device. It makes the basses of the accordion sound like a piano. Cheers, Fer To be fair, there are players out there who really can make them sound fine & I have enjoyed sessions with PAs in the mix, but for me, only when they are able to play without that dreadful VAMPING left hand honking through every tune! For me, any Accordion player who HONKS the basses ALL THE WAY through EVERY tune, just gets right up my nose. Cheers Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 To be fair, there are players out there who really can make them sound fine & I have enjoyed sessions with PAs in the mix, but for me, only when they are able to play without that dreadful VAMPING left hand honking through every tune! For me, any Accordion player who HONKS the basses ALL THE WAY through EVERY tune, just gets right up my nose. Cheers Dick I used to play in a lovely session: uilleann pipes, fiddle, wooden flute, ONE guitar or bouzoki and ONE very skilled and subtle bodhran. Everything sounded fine until Paco (spanish for Frank) arrived with his accordion (everybody nicknamed him Pacordeon ). Well, this guy - heavy built bloke - has a 120 basses continental cromatic button accordion, and when he began to play, everybody began to pack. Week after week, the same. Apparently, the boy went to the session for to hear himself playing in a very loud way with full honking basses, even when he was already playing alone. He really taught me to hate to death big boxes. Maybe there are accordion players who really can make them sound fine, but I've not been lucky enough to meet any. Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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