The Collection

Concertina

The concertina has a fascinating and confusing world history. It comes in all shapes, sizes, sounds and styles. It is part of the squeezebox, bandoleon, conzertina, melodeon, accordion, and associated button-box family. The harmonica is also a close member of the family. The concertina is by far the daddy of them all in regard to versatility and complexity. Most people identify it as the small instrument ‘played by sailors’ or, in Australia’s case, shearers. In truth it was created to play far more highbrow music and is sympathetic in musical versatility to the violin. In the 19th century it would have sat firmly on the pianofortes or sideboards of the upper class.

It is an extremely sweet sounding instrument and used to play a variety of music from classical to traditional dance. This article is predominately about the concertina and melodeon in Australia and predominately about their role in traditional music making.

In the 1950s The Ram’s Skull Press, Victoria, published a small folio titled ‘The Banjo, the Violin & the Bones’ where John Manifold discussed the popular instruments of the bush. It should have more appropriately been called ‘The Violin, the Concertina & the Melodeon’ for these three instruments, along with the harmonica (or mouth organ), were the most commonly played musical instruments in the Australian tradition.

The Concertina in Australia

The English concertina’s first documented appearance in Australia was 1841, a mere fifty-three years after the arrival of the First Fleet of convicts and marines, and a year before Sydney was declared Australia’s first city.

It appears to have belonged to a land agent and general auctioneer, Mr Blackman, who had rooms for some years at The Terrace, Hunter Street, Sydney. Mr Blackman ‘who is proceeding back to England’ advertised his personal belongings in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (23 March 1841) including ‘a very superior concertina – the only one in the colony.’ Considering Mr Blackman had been a Sydney resident for some years we can only speculate whether he had brought the concertina from England or had ordered it to be shipped. Maybe some diligent researcher can trace Blackman’s name back to the Wheatstone sale ledgers.

The ‘colonials’ had already read about the instrument in an 1837 newspaper article (The Sydney Herald  23 Nov 1837) reporting on the Covent Garden Theatrical Fund Dinner, in the Freemason’s Hall, where “Giulio Regondi performed very brilliantly upon Wheatstone’s Patent Concertina”.  ‘The Great Regondi’ is probably better remembered as a guitar virtuoso and composer, however, he surely must have been one of the first virtuosos of the concertina if this report from The Times (London), (26 April 1837) is any indication: “GREAT CONCERT-ROOM – KING’S THEATRE. There was also a novelty in the shape of an instrument called ‘a concertina,’ an improvement on the accordion, which has been such a favourite musical toy for the last two or three years. The tones of this instrument are sweet and pleasing; but far more striking than the concertina itself were the feeling and ease with which it was played by that clever little boy Giulio Regondi, who executed several intricate passages with surprising facility and precision.”

One can only speculate as to how many concertinas arrived between 1840 and 1850 however, considering the number of emigrants, public officials and their families, etc, and the general interest in the new instrument at that time, it is highly likely concertinas were included in the luggage of travellers. The voyage from Southampton to Melbourne could take four or five months and musical evenings were considered an important part of shipboard well-being. The concertina, being small and portable, was popular on these journeys. There was also the fact that parlour music and semi-classical, both well-suited to the instrument, were seen as a ‘civilising’ opportunity for emigrants. There must have been plenty of time to practise on the high seas. 

Sightings of the concertina became more regular from 1850 onward. It is probably worth pointing out that today’s Australia is one of the most diverse populations on the planet – over 200 ethnic groups. It is interesting, as an aside, to note that our ‘convict birth’ and subsequent rural upbringing in the 19th century both influenced our folk music. There were more English convicts transported here than Irish, Welsh or Scottish. There is little doubt that Australian bush music sounds distinctive – it has a unique sound that salutes our pioneering heritage. Instrumentation was primarily free reed and string instruments, keyboards, and percussion. 

The Sydney Morning Herald  (1 May 1850) announced the arrival of a shipment of musical instruments, including concertinas.

 Adelaide – the City of Churches (and concertinas)

It is not surprising to find that Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, the only colony not to have convicts, had more newspaper concertina reports than any other colony. ‘Unblemished’ South Australia was seen as a safe place, especially for female emigrants, and, besides, it was considered both religious and artistic. 

In 1850 the Adelaide Times (6 Mar 1850) reported: ‘A gentleman, recently arrived from England, has, in his possession, a most beautiful Concertina, on which he plays exquisitely. We had the pleasure last evening at the Clarendon Hotel, of hearing him play two or three marches and airs upon it from different operas in first-rate style. This instrument must not be confounded with the Accordion, or Flautina, the tones are far richer and most powerful; almost sufficiently so for some of the small places of worship here. It would he a very great addition to any future concert that might be given’.

That same month the Adelaide Times (29 March 1850) advertised

‘Six grand promenade concerts’ that featured an ‘amateur’ player – ‘Solo on concertina’, declaring it the ‘first time in this colony’.

The South Australian (5 April 1850) reviewed the concert:

‘Among the most successful pieces, we may mention the solo on the Concertina, a novel and beautiful instrument, and that on the Tuber Basso, which was enthusiastically encored. The trumpet polka and the drum polka were also much admired. On the whole, we have never seen a concert in the colony go off better or give more general satisfaction’.

The Discovery of Gold led to more concertinas

The discovery of gold in New South Wales and Victoria in 1851 turned international attention on Australia. Would-be fossickers travelled to the ports of Sydney and Melbourne, then scrambled to the inland goldfields. They took with them what they could carry, typically a shovel, rucksack of provisions and a few personal mementoes. It is unlikely many musical instruments were included in the packs of the first wave of diggers. Fiddles and concertinas definitely came on the second wave as stagecoaches travelled back and forth to the goldfield tent cities. These were crazed times and Australia’s population increased by well over a million in just twenty years. Tent cities quickly became towns and the ‘singing halls’ an important part of goldfields entertainment. 

Quantities of concertinas started to appear in all the colonies as merchants imported shipments from England. The gold rush had dramatically increased the number of ships on the Australian run and freight became an important business for shipping lines. Many auctions were conducted on the wharves immediately after the ships had landed.

Advertisements started to appear in all colonial newspapers. Many described the wood – rosewood, blackwood, walnut etc.

smh 13 sept

Colonial Times Hobart  (31 Jan 1851) 

‘Rosewood concertina with instructions’

Cornwall Chronicle

The Courier Hobart 22 Feb 1851

‘Concertinas of the latest patent improvement, with books of instructions that either lady or gentleman may teach themselves this splendid accomplishment; so much the rage in all respectable families.’

Sydney Morning Herald (31 March 1851)

‘ROSEWOOD SERAPHINE CONCERTINA, Wheatstone’s patent double action, with instructions, case – (the only one for sale in the colony)’

Sydney Morning Herald (8 Nov 1851) ‘Six Concertinas at 10/6 each’.

‘The Concertina cannot be sounded out of tune..’

It appears that the concertina gained a solid market in Australia fairly quickly and Sydney’s main music retailer, W. J. Johnson, advertising in the Sydney Morning Herald (10 Jan 1852) opens with: ‘The Concertina is now so well known, that it is hardly necessary to say it possesses qualities which have never hitherto been combined in a single musical instrument; it is equally adapted to the most expressive performance, and the most rapid execution whether confined to the succession of single notes, as most other wind instruments are, or in harmony of two, three, or four parts. It is very easy to learn on account of the remarkable simplicity of fingering, and the great facility with which its tones are produced and sustained; and as it cannot be sounded out of tune, the most perfect crescendos and diminuendos may be obtained without the practice requisite on other instruments – to these advantages may be added the peculiar beauty of its tones and its extreme portability. The Concertina is capable of performing music written for the flute, violin, or any other instrument; besides which, much music has been written expressly for this instrument.

The undersigned has now on view a few of the above beautiful instruments and instruction books.

W. J. JOHNSON.

The concertina goes bush.

Later that year the Sydney retailer made the first connection between the concertina and the ‘bush’. In those days the ‘bush’ referred to anywhere out of the capital cities or main coastal town centres, even if not necessarily a long distance. The term ‘bush’ was used as early as the 1810s as ‘forest’ or ‘wood’ didn’t seem at all applicable to the impenetrable and seemingly hostile bush. As we now know, the concertina found a ready home in the bush and was a favourite of the itinerant workers.

The popularity of the concertina, particularly the Anglo and Duet, is closely associated with dance music. The popularity of dances like the polka and schottische encouraged many players and sheet music was both imported and printed locally. It wasn’t unusual for a 19th century bush dance, often staged in a woodshed or local church hall, to have music supplied by the one local who played an instrument, often it was a concertina. The player would also have to cope with playing half the night because these social gatherings were rare, welcomed and the dancers often refused to leave. The player had to tempo himself, develop styles that didn’t wear him or her down. 

Learn the concertina in half an hour!

Sydney Morning Herald (28 Aug 1852)

CONCERTINAs, with instruction books. These instruments are peculiarly well adapted for the bush. The concertina is the easiest, most beautiful, and portable of all musical instruments yet invented and stands well in the most tropical climates. The fingering is so extremely simple and the tones so easily produced, that any person may, in the course of half an hour, be able to play a simple tune. W. J. Johnson.

Enter the Professor

With the increased popularity and availability of concertinas came professional recital artists and teachers. Many of these expert players assumed the title of ‘professor’. Henry Richardson was one of the earliest and many followed.

Sydney Morning Herald (1 Jan 1853) Mr HENRY RICHARDSON,

Professor of the Concertina, (Pupil of Signor Giulio Regondi and Mr George Case) who has recently arrived from London, is desirous of giving publicity to his intention immediately to commence the practice of his profession. A portion of the community are necessarily unacquainted with the merits and capacity of this delightful instrument; tho facility of execution, purity of intonation, harmonic effect, and variety of expression, in every style of composition, sacred and secular, of which it is capable, have secured for it an unqualified supremacy in the higher circles in the United Kingdom, where it is now “practised, by both ladies and gentlemen, to a wonderful extent, its recent invention considered.

Salkeld Tasmania

With the view of affording an opportunity to judge of the merits of the instrument, Mr Richardson purposes giving a Concert, (in conjunction with Mr Waller, the eminent vocalist) upon which occasion he.will perform some of the most admired compositions,’ selected from popular operas, – &c. All communications respecting terms for tuition to be addressed to

The Music Saloon, Pitt-street. Sydney.

Empire

Sydney Morning Herald (20 Jan 1853)

A crowded and fashionable audience gave Mr Richardson a cordial welcome on Tuesday evening, in the theatre of the School of Arts, upon the occasion of his presenting illustrations of the capabilities of the Messrs. Wheatstone’s far-famed instrument, the Concertina. Various weak imitations of this instrument – the Accordéon and the Flautina, for example – have been introduced here of late years, but they are mere toys when compared with what may justly be termed a result of the “mathematics of music.” About seventeen years ago, the attention of musical performers was directed to the question, whether the duplicity of the dissonances is not the solution of the difficulties that attach to the correct division and execution of the musical scale. In this discussion, the Messrs. Wheatstone took a prominent part, and amongst the practical results of the investigation of this theory, was the introduction of the concertina,- a most welcome contribution to musical science. Constructed with a view to the execution of every kind of music, however, elaborate, however simple, it at once found favour with both amateurs and professional musicians , and we are surprised that it was not long in exhibiting the capabilities of this instrument,  Mr Richardson displayed not only masterly execution but the best taste. His repertoire included the opening ‘ of La Sonnambula, wherein Lisa mourns her ruined hopes. The second was a popular Tyrolean air, with variations by Sedgwick. The third was a delightful arrangement by George Case, of an Austrian air; and the fourth was Donizetti’s matchless serenade, “On Summer Night,” from Don Pasquale. Rapturous encores testified the delight and surprise of the audience and their appreciation of the taste which had selected these beautiful compositions. Mr Richardson also played an obligato accompaniment to Mr Waller’s song of ” Hear me, gentle Maritana.” We ought to have observed that the concertina commands the complete chromatic scale and that full harmonised passages are perfectly rendered. Mr Richardson was assisted by Mrs St. John Adcock, Mr Waller, and Mr Sigmont, and the concertina soiree must be cited as another hit for the School of Arts.

A year later, 1854, George Case, noted musician and concertina builder, visited Australia for the first of several tours.

Oh Susannah!

One of the favourite entertainments of the mid-nineteenth century was the minstrel show. Several American and British troupes toured Australia and the music held its popularity until around 1910. Many country towns formed their own minstrel troupes. The concertina was a popular instrument in many of these groups. The minstrel repertoire was mostly the popular ‘Oh Susannah’ style of song with Stephen Foster’s works achieving extremely wide circulation. Many of these songs were used as parody songs and also as the basis for what we refer to as ‘bush songs’. 

The Anglo-German concertina also made an impact on Australia, especially with its folk music. Large shipments of Anglo concertinas arrived in the later period of the goldrush era and the instrument soon jumped into the bush to become the favourite of bush dance accompanists. The number of Anglo-German concertinas soon outnumbered the English concertina which, one suspects, was still thought of as primarily an art music instrument.

Here are two recordings I made of Mrs Susan Colley in 1973. Mrs Colley, an Anglo player was 92 year’s old when I recorded her version of the Varsoviena (She called it the Arse-Over-Anna). Mrs Colley plays a Stanley Concertina (see below)

https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/warren-faheys-australian-bush-orchestra/id1149926437

The bushman’s Instrument

As a bush instrument, the concertina travelled Australia in portmanteau bags,  saddle bags and even swags. It is mentioned in many bush stories and celebrated in poetry and song. It became synonymous with the campfire and the so-called woolshed dance.

It is important to note that all models of concertina were played in Australia, however, using the instrument to accompany one’s own singing appears a rarity. In truth, the Australian bush song tradition (although some refer to this as Australian folk song) is primarily unaccompanied. This is not to say bushmen didn’t sing with the concertina, but there are scarce mentions of it, and one is hard-pressed to cite a field recording where both are combined. This, of course, has not stopped modern-day interpreters from accompanying themselves.

Another thought on the Australian tradition concerns ornamentation, both instrumentally and vocally. Just like ‘forest’ and ‘wood’ seemed inappropriate terms for the ‘bush’, so too was ornamentation. Australia, especially the outback, is harsh and remote. This remoteness affected our language, laconic sense of humour and, possibly, the role of ornamentation in traditional music. The music reflects the environment. 

‘Gooriannawa’ is a typical shearing song. It mentions some of the great shearing stations. It is sung here by Warren Fahey accompanied on his Lachenal Ediphone.

Gooriannawa

Squeezing into the Slanguage

The concertina also went into the Australian language. Shearers often referred to a sheep as concertina because of the wrinkles in their skin. Concertina leggings were developed to protect the ankles of bush workers from the thick undergrowth and thorny prickles. Bush cooks referred to a side of mutton as a concertina of mutton because of the ribs. Concertina wireis a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed in large coils which can be expanded like a concertina. Australian soldiers in WW1 made their own using standard barbed wire.

The concertina goes to town

The stream of concertina playing ran steadily from the heady goldrush days, through the rural boom years of wheat, wool and beef, and to the early twentieth century, when the population shifted from primarily working and living in the country, to living in coastal cities, working in factories and commerce. The concertina travelled too and was found on the vaudeville stage, Salvation Army bands and, probably in the hands of its most fanatical players, the street larrikins. The larrikins were a city phenomenon, and an ugly one to boot. They were street roughs who acted in gangs creating mischief. They appeared in the 1870s and remained a nuisance until around the late nineteen twenties. The concertina was their favourite instrument for their greatest delight, apart from fighting and being a threat to public civility, was dancing. They were known to take over public spaces, crank up the concertina, and polka and waltz into the evening.

larrikin and his concertina

The instrument, being heavenly, also found itself in the hands of various evangelical preachers. One even described himself as ‘The Concertina Bloke’. The Salvation Army, particularly strong in the Australian bush, typically had three or four concertina players in the one band. I have recorded two Salvation Army players and, sadly, their repertoires were restricted to hymns. 

John Stanley. The Concertina Doctor of Australia.

Australia had one maker of concertinas. John Stanley operated from a shop in the main street of the west New South Wales regional town of Bathurst. He repaired, adapted and made Anglo-German concertinas between 1880 and 1900. He advertised that his Stanley Concertinas were particularly loud and well-suited for dance accompaniment. It has been rare to find a Stanley, however, this year, I was fortunate to find one (I only know of two others). His name and the purchasers were engraved very predominately into the fretboard.

The concertina in Hard Times & Lean Times

The concertina went to the Boer war and to the First World War and, along with a few other portable instruments like the mouth organ, whistle and banjo mandolin was favoured by the troops for singalongs.

Australian Star 1900

By the 1930s the concertina seemed to have disappeared from favour. It no doubt came out for a few Depression year singalongs but radio was becoming a dominant force and recorded music sales were soaring. Like much of the western world we were becoming a nation of people who got entertained, rather than entertained each other. Dances in the country still retained their typical bands of violin, piano, button accordion and concertina. City dance bands were mainly large jazz ensembles heavy on brass and keyboard instruments.

The concertina in popular culture

The concertina popped up in some of the strangest places.

Cartoons, comic strips and advertisements being just a few. Children’s pages even had a How to Make Your Own Concertina guide!

Sydney Sun 1949

Cartoon2

The concertina also appeared in WW2 political cartoons.

Courier Mail 12

The Folk Revival (whatever that is)

It wasn’t until the international folk boom of the 1950s that the concertina reappeared, albeit quietly. By the sixties a few British migrants and travellers, notably Mike Ball, Colin Dryden and Carol Wilkinson, all English concertina players, performed at folk festivals and clubs.  A resurgence of interest in Australian bush songs and dancing in the late sixties and early seventies also saw a revival of interest in the concertina and many ‘bush bands’, revivalist interpreters of bush songs, incorporated a concertina, mainly Anglo-German.

The concertina today and resources for the curious

The Australian folk scene of today covers many musical expressions and the concertina is likely to appear playing anything from world fusion music to Celtic, bush music to the accompaniment of the British ballad repertoire. There are thousands of players and thousands of styles.

The main focus of folk music in Australia today appears to be the solid network of festivals. Some, like the National Folk Festival and the Woodford Festival, are big events and others, like Cobargo and Kangaroo Valley, are smaller. As many of the festivals are in the regional areas, and Australia being blessed with sunshine, camping is an important feature. Festivals are staged all year round. Folk clubs still operate in capital cities and some larger rural areas plus there is a loose network for touring artists. Several internationally renowned concertina players tour regularly including Brian Peters and Noel Hill.

The National Library of Australia has an Oral History and Folklore Section which contains many field recordings of traditional concertina players. They offer a Folk Fellowship each year and in 2016 concertina player and collector, Chris Sullivan, was awarded the fellowship, allowing him to study the various recordings and to offer an academic overview. Chris presented his findings at a library lecture and a workshop at that year’s National Folk Festival.

https://www.nla.gov.au/event/national-folk-fellow-lecture-2016

https://www.northernstar.com.au/videos/history-concertina/36880

Dance plays a role in the concertina’s Australian life and there are several clubs dedicated to Morris and social dance. Many have concertina players.

Dance information.

http://www.bushtraditions.org/

‘Fostering interest in, knowledge about, and enjoyment of, Australia’s cultural heritage of music, dance, poetry and folklore.’

http://www.colonialdance.com.au/

Heather Clarke’s extensive site for dance steps, history, music.

http://www.bushmusic.org.au/

The Bush Music Club, based in Sydney, is the oldest folk club in Australia and, arguably, one of the oldest folk clubs in the world. It has been actively promoting Australian folk traditions for over 60 years and will continue to do so well into the future

The main communication line for Australian concertina players is the  Concertina Convergence which can be contacted at concertinas@humphhall.org 

Tune information.

http://bushtraditions.wiki/

An extensive archive of Australian tunes, ABC files.

The two main gatherings of concertina players are the Concertina Convergence at the National Folk Festival staged at Canberra at Easter and the Bush Traditions gathering staged in Goulburn (New South Wales) every September Labour Day long weekend. 

http://www.bushtraditions.org/links/linkfest.htm

Lists some of the main folk festivals including Australian folk music.

There are several folk music tuition weekend festivals and the National Folk Festival usually has a four-day folk school prior to the commencement of the main festival program. These schools often include concertina workshop courses. 

The three main sources for History of the Concertina in Australia are;

The Anglo-German Concertina: A Social History

https://books.google.com.au/books?isbn=0982599617

Dan Worrall’s extensive and impressive history.

http://www.bushtraditions.org/tutors/concertina.htm

This is a site primarily for players and includes history, tuition, a list of tunes (in row, cross row and three-row beasts) and some exercises. The site is designed for what we call ‘bush music’.

https://www.warrenfahey.com.au/thebigsqueeze

History of the concertina and melodeon in Australia

The concertina was invented in England, around 1830, by Sir Charles Wheatstone, who also pioneered the Telegraph and the appropriately named, Wheatstone Bridge. . The instrument was initially a scientific curiosity until, in 1836, it was marketed as a serious musical instrument, leading to its patent in 1844. By the 1850s the firm of Wheatstone & Co. was manufacturing tenor, bass and baritone versions in two different systems known as the Anglo German and the English. They were hand-made and assembled and, in most models, used the finest timbers, bone and available metals.

The first concertina had 48 keys and offered a full chromatic range which made it popular for ‘parlour’ music and especially light classics and novelty pieces such as ‘The Flight of the Bumble Bee’ and ‘Greensleeves’.

The English 48 button concertina

As the instrument gained more acceptance, other firms such as Lachenal and Jeffries were established (usually by ex-Wheatstone employees) and the cost of concertinas lowered. With a more affordable price the instrument moved out of the drawing room and into the world of popular music.

The Lachenal logo

Several new styles were introduced including bass, tenor and baritone instruments. New keyboard systems were also introduced on the theory of ‘building a better mousetrap’. Classical music was written especially for the instrument and, especially in England and America, concertina bands were formed.

Concertina bands

The most successful new style came with the Anglo German concertina, which offered a different note on the push and pull and therefore a completely different sound and playing style. It was also less complicated to manufacture and repair, and was therefore cheaper. It was also easier to learn and play. It’s main limitation as that it was restricted in the keys it offered. The most popular was the C/G concertina.

Both the English and Anglo German concertina were extremely popular in 19th century Australia as they were light, relatively affordable, portable and were ideal for dance music and song accompaniment.

British companies like Lachenal and Wheatstone commenced exporting to Australia very early on in their history supplying an eager market, especially on the gold fields, from the 1850s onwards. There are reports from both the Gulgong and Ophir mining camps of people playing concertina music on the streets and in the hotels.

By the 1870s the instrument was well and truly part of our local musical line-up. Australia was built on a mainly male, itinerant workforce. The concertina suited the traveler and it also suited the environment of the bush. It could be played solo or alongside other instruments, it was relatively hardy and remained in tune, and its music echoed the emerging traditional music that was predominantly influenced by English, Scottish and Irish music.

It sounded right for the rough and tumble nature of what has become known as Australian bush music. It had the sound of the campfire and seemed comfortable as an accompaniment to campfire conversation and a billy of tea.

Music was extremely important to the bushman and the settler as it provided a gentleness often missing in outback life. The young women of the homestead were expected to play keyboard but the concertina was more likely to find itself being played by a man more used to shearing sheep, droving cattle or bending barbed wire. Seeing and hearing such men play sweet tunes and songs must have been a dramatic departure and a civilizing tonic for all.

The melodeon or button accordion travelled a similar road. The Melodeon was developed from the harmonica and other free reed instruments early in the 19th century. The Melodeon fingering system is still basically the same today, very similar to a Harmonica on the right hand, with a different note on the push & pull of the bellows, and bass notes and chords on the left hand.

The instrument has a naturally rhythmic sound, and came to Australia around the same time as the concertina.

The melodeon was mainly used for playing dance music tunes and was available in one-row and two-row instruments. The basic melodeon has one row of 10 treble keys, and 4 bass keys. The instrument was fairly loud and, with its distinctive pumping action, ideal for dance music.

There is very little documented evidence of traditional players actually singing to the accompaniment of either the melodeon or the concertina. This is primarily because the Australian tradition tends to be an unaccompanied tradition.

In the 20th Century, reflecting the massive changes in popular entertainment, the instrument fell out of favour, and one by one, the manufacturers closed or went out of business. Wheatstone’s (by this time owned by the music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes) closed in 1968.

For many people their first encounter with a concertina came through films that featured concertina music or, occasionally, a player. If any one film influenced how we perceive the instrument it would have been John Houston’s ‘Moby Dick’ (1957) featuring the legendary British player Alf Edwards playing on an English concertina – it immediately became associated with sailors and the sea. Here’s a short list gleaned from www.mediarare.com

The Gay Divorcee / /1933

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, RKO Pictures. The alternative male love interest (played by Erik Rhodes) “plays” an Anglo concertina (and sings for real) at length in the grand production number “The Continental”. The sound of an accordion is heard briefly, as Mr Rhodes starts, then fades out under the orchestra. The film is very Art Deco/stylish — the concertina, for example, is an almost pure white, with big buttons

Oliver / Carol Reed / 1968

Peter Honri played the MacCann Duet and a miniature Anglo German.

Camille / /

Greta Garbo/Robert Taylor/Lionel Barrymore. There is a brief scene with a country peasant on a wagon playing an anglo concertina, about midway through the movie.

Back to Oklahoma / / 1936

Tex Ritter is in a jam and wires Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys for help. They arrive by stage with Tex driving and the Playboys sitting on top of the stage, playing and singing. Arkansas Slim, Tex’s sidekick, gallops behind the stage on his mule, playing an anglo concertina. Later, Slim, on concertina, and the Playboys accompany Tex’s singing by the campfire. It’s then time for Tex and Slim to ride into town and outfox the villians. Slim hands his concertina to Bob Wills and says, “Here Bob, hold my wrinkle-box.”

Night to Remember / Roy Ward Baker / 1958

B/W. One scene showed the steerage passengers dancing to a concertina. It was a nice 56 key metal ended Aeola and the person holding it was actually playing it.

The Magic Box / John Boulting / 1951

features a Concertina and stars Glynis Johns, Richard Attenborough, Sir John Gielgud. Herbert Greene played the concertina in the Crystal Palace Fairground sequence (“Knees up Mother Brown”).It was based on the life of Movie Inventor, William Friese-Green.

Mary Poppins / Disney Production / 1964

Bert “plays” an anglo concertina (heard as an accordion) as part of his one-man-band in the opening.

The Milagro Beanfield War / Robert Redford / 1988

Features, prominently, a little old man (who is actually an angel), dancing around the town (he is invisible except to one of Milagro’s old-timers) playing his beat-up Anglo concertina. He is faking it.

Nightmare before Christmas / Tim Burton

A cute little stuffed Christmas Bear seated under a Christmas tree plays a (if you can call it one) Concertina in one of the scenes of this film. The Concertina is toy bear sized and basically only a bellows with two hexagonal ends.

Locally, writers and songwriters have also reinforced the concertina and its association with the bush. Henry Lawson mentions the concertina and there are ‘bush songs’ like ‘The Man With The Concertina’ that toast the instrument.

The first concertina I ever heard live was played by Mike Ball, an Englishman who was instrumental in the Australian folk revival in the 1960s. later I heard Carol Wilkinson play her English and then Colin Dryden (I bought his English concertina in 1970) and Mike Eves. Mike Ball’s playing is heard accompanying Declan Affley on the recording ‘Rake and Rambling Man’. Also in the 1960s I heard several recordings of the legendary British singers A.L.Lloyd and Ewan MacColl who were accompanied by Alf Edwards and Peggy Seeger, respectively and respectfully. I have always loved the sound of the instrument as an accompaniment to song.

I play a 48 key concertina that is the same as the first instrument to be made by Wheatstone & Co. Mine, a Lachenal, is around 120 years old and still going strong.

It is hard to explain the enjoyment I receive from playing this instrument. It is ideal to accompany songs and for those who tend to get baffled by learning an instrument allow me to say that I had quite a battle to get my fingers and head around playing. I taught myself music by carefully picking out the notes until eventually I managed to knock out some tunes. It was only recently that I stopped reading the dots and started to play by ear. It worked and I can now play most songs and tunes I hear in my head. It’s a wonderful thing!

The surprising thing about the history of the concertina is that it appears to be extremely popular in the 21st century. It had a revival in the 1960s through the 1950s and 60s international revival of interest in folk music and has steadily increased its popularity. This is a tribute to Wheatstone and his fellow inventors and to the players who have championed the instrument. Countless recordings have been issued over the past fifty years, concertina virtuoso players have emerged, repairers and restorers kept busy and a quick look at the Internet will reveal chat-rooms, blogs, sites and all manner of things ‘concertina’. Ebay has a whole section devoted to the buying and selling of the instrument. Australia has two master craftsmen manufacturing excellent Anglo German concertinas.