English Concertinas Views
English-system treble and tenor-treble concertinas usually span 3 1/2 or 4 octaves. Baritones are similar but transpose down one octave. Bass concertinas transpose 2 octaves down, and Piccolo concertinas play one octave up. The keyboard stud-arrangement and spacing is the same throughout, so concertina band players can all play from music in treble clef, and it's straightforward to move from smaller to larger instruments.
The Anglo or Anglo-German concertina is historically a hybrid between the English and German types of concertinas. The button layouts are generally the same as the original 20-button German concertinas designed by Uhlig in 1834. Within a few years of that date, the German concertina was a popular import in England, Ireland and North America, due to its ease of use and relatively low price. Due to this popularity, English manufacturers began offering their own versions built using traditional English methods: concertina reeds instead of long-plate reeds, independent pivots for each button, and hexagon-shaped ends. Initially the term Anglo-German only applied to the concertinas of this type built in England. But as German manufacturers adopted some of these techniques, the term came to apply to all concertinas that used the 20-button system patented by Uhlig. Use of the German part of the title Anglo-German ceased in the UK during World War I.
The Anglo concertina is typically held by placing the hands through a leather strap, with the thumbs outside the strap and the palms resting on wooden bars. This arrangement leaves four fingers of each hand free for noting and the thumbs free to operate an air valve (for expanding or contracting the bellows without sounding a note) or a drone. Anglo concertinas are often associated with the music of Ireland, although they are also used in other musical contexts, particularly in music for the English Morris dance and Boeremusiek. Famous English players of the Anglo include Scan Tester, John Spiers, William Kimber, and John Kirkpatrick.
George Jones is often credited as the first English maker of the chromatic Anglo concertina. British firms active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries include those founded by Charles Wheatstone, Charles Jeffries (who built primarily Anglo-style concertinas), Louis Lachenal (who built concertinas in both English and Anglo styles and was the most prolific manufacturer of the period), and John Crabb.
English Concertinas Images
