2 History (Concertina)
Description
This article is from the Concertina FAQ, by Chris Timson chris@harbour.demon.co.uk with numerous contributions by others.
2 History (Concertina)
The concertina belongs to a class of instruments known as Free Reed
instruments, which also includes accordions and harmonicas. It was
developed in 1829 and 1830 by Sir Charles Wheatstone of Wheatstone
bridge fame after several years of building prototypes, a few of which
still exist (in 1829 he patented its direct predecessor, the Symphonium,
but he did not actually patent the concertina itself until 1844). The
already-existing family musical instrument firm of Wheatstone & Co
switched over to manufacturing concertinas, each one expensively hand-made
by highly skilled craftsmen, and at first the concertina was very much an
instrument of the middle and upper class drawing room. Its fully chromatic
range was suited to classical pieces, with its fast action lending it to
"party pieces" such as The Flight of the Bumble Bee. In due course other
firms such as Lachenal and Jeffries were founded (several by ex-Wheatstone
employees) the cost of concertinas lowered, and the instrument moved out
of the drawing room and into the world of popular music.
It became popular with music hall performers, several of whom, such as
Percy Honri (who billed himself as "A concert-in-a turn") and "Professor"
J. H. MacCann, were musicians of the highest virtuosity. The Salvation
Army liked it for its portability and strident tone. Concertina bands
were formed, playing marches and other popular pieces (and commemorated
to this day by the Concertina Brewery, who brew in the cellar of the old
Mexborough Concertina Band Club in South Yorkshire). It also became a
favourite of traditional musicians throughout the British Isles.
In the 20th Century the instrument gradually fell out of favour, and one
by one the makers closed or went out of business. Wheatstone's themselves
(by this time owned by Boosey & Hawkes) closed in 1968, the last survivor
being Crabbe & Co of Islington who closed in the late '80s.
What saved the instrument from gradually dwindling away into obscurity,
as far as the UK was concerned, was the Folk Revival from the '60s
onward. Performers looking for a different sound from the ubiquitous
guitar were drawn to the concertina for all its old virtues of
versatility and flexibility combined with portability. In addition the
concertina permitted song accompaniments that were free of the rhythmic
straitjacket that the guitar in unskilled hands tends to impose upon
everything. For folk and morris dance the anglo concertina and its
accordion cousin the melodeon proved ideal. People started making
concertinas again, many of a quality to equal anything made by the old
companies.
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