Edgley A/E Concertina

A Very Special Concertina Made By Frank Edgley

Web Site by Tom Lawrence

Photography by David Airapetyan

Concertinas

The Anglo concertina is a peculiar creature. They are recognizable to almost everyone, yet still rather rare. They are one of the few bisonoric instruments around (meaning a given button makes a different pitch when squeezing versus pulling the bellows), making for both a distinctive rhythm and a bug-eyed expression on the part of the player. They are little creatures with a loud bark. And each is unique, with its own sound and personality.

This particular concertina is unusual in that it has a custom tuning. Most concertinas used in Irish music come in a tuning of C/G, which means the middle row plays C-major and the inner row plays G-major. In Irish music, as typically used, this produces tunes relative to an Uilleann piper playing with a set having drones in D. However, standardizing on D is a relatively recent thing. In the old days, pipes came in whatever pitch they were made, usually lower. In recent times, it has been popular to have "flat sets" with drones in modern concert B. On the concertina, this would imply an A/E tuning. This is the tuning I asked Mr. Edgley to use for this concertina. It took a little persuading, but the result is a concertina with an absolutely gorgeous, rich low tone.

A Work of Art

This instrument looks beautiful, sounds wonderful, and plays effortlessly. Click any of the images on this page to see large details.

Audio

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, they say. And so the proof of the concertina is in the listening. I've recorded some of my favorite tunes to try to show just a little of what this concertina can do. I fear my playing is not worthy of this fine instrument. But I enjoy playing so much, I decided to post these anyway. In fact, it was only supposed to be four or five tracks, but I was having so much fun I ended up with 11. Click below any of the tune name links to hear mp3 audio files. I've also linked to CDs having the professionals play these tunes, where available.

The Ash Plant, Scatter The Mud (Jigs) - Two of my favorite jigs, learned from the playing of three of my favorite concertina players. The first jig is as played by Kitty Hayes on A Touch of Clare. The second seems to be my own hybridization between how Mary MacNamara played it on The Blackberry Blossom and Tommy McCarthy's playing on Sporting Nell.

The Sligo Maid's Lament, Down The Broom (Reels) - Two of my favorite, powerful reels.

Selected Links

http://concertinas.ca - Frank Edgley's web site

http://www.concertina.net - A comprehensive source of information about concertinas, and a very friendly discussion board

http://rvade.net - David Airapetyan's photography web site

I am Tom Lawrence (tom at concertinatom dot com), amateur Irish-style concertina player in the Seattle area. If you email me, be sure to put "concertina" in the subject line to avoid my junk-mail filter.

Concertina Acquired: May 2004
Created: May 2004
Last Updated: Feb 2006

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