Post by Dick Glasgow on Dec 25, 2011 13:00:57 GMT
I was recently, lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time & acquired this wonderful #15 62 key Wheatstone Aeola Baritone / Treble Concertina, which, from its number, I know from the Wheatstone ledgers, was first sold on the 18th May 1923.
Until just a few weeks ago, it was actually in old pitch & hadn’t been played for over 50 years, so I’m absolutely delighted to be the person honoured with the task of bringing it back to life.
This Concertina was acquired by a dealer based in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, which just happens to be the home of the late, great George S Morris. George Morris had the Morris Hotel in Oldmeldrum.
The Morris Hotel, Oldmeldrum
However, his main claim to fame was that he was an entertainer & as well as recording many Both Ballads & being known locally as The King of Bothy Ballads, he was also a very fine Concertina player.
Of all the ballads he composed, his most famous is: A Pair o' Nicky Tams
Here's what Wikipedia have to say about .... Oldmeldrum
George Smith Morris and Willie Kemp, who owned the hotel before George & who was also an entertainer, both get an honourable mention.
From a few photos, I know that George played a large metal ended Aeola & from other evidence I know that it was an English Concertina, but so far, I have not been able to say with any certainty whether it was a 7 bellowed #14: 56 key Baritone, or an 8 bellowed a #15: 62 key Baritone / Treble or #16: 62 key Baritone / Treble.
I contacted the dealer in Oldmeldrum who sold this Concertina recently to an English restorer, but due to client confidentiality, he was unable to give me the name of the person he bought it from locally. However, as I used to live just up the road from Oldmeldrum, in Fyvie, and in fact used to play with the Oldmeldrum Fiddlers, who used to rehearse in a loft above the old Brewery in Oldmeldrum, I was quite happy to start makes enquiries myself. This led to me having a lovely conversation with a local lady who knew George Morris very well & as an Accordion player herself, she shared many musical evenings with him. Anyway, she was able to confirm that George died in 1958 & that his only son Bill, who had almost certainly inherited the Concertina, showed no interest in the Concertina & never learned to play it.
I know from investigations carried out by Concertina enthusiasts, in the Wheatstone Ledgers, that between 1923 [ #29678 ] & 1943 [ #35450 ] a total of only 123 Baritone Concertinas were ever made by Wheatstone.
Now of those 123, only 41 were actually metal ended, 14 being 56 key Baritones with 7 fold bellows & 27 being either 62 or 64 key Baritone / Trebles, with 8 fold bellows.
So naturally, I’m very keen to establish whether the Concertina George played actually had 7 or 8 folds.
If 8, then I’d love to be able to see from a really good photo, whether his was a 62 or 64 keyed instrument.
If 62, then as only 8 of those, like mine, were ever made, it’d be very unlikely, although of course not impossible, that two of those 8 actually ended up in the same village in Aberdeenshire.
So my search goes on ........ ;-)
As for my evidence so far, here’s a link to a review of the recording Sook and Blaw, which included a number of tracks by George Morris, including tracks 4 & 11 which read as follows:
Sook and Blaw
4 : George Smith Morris (English concertina), William S Morris (piano); mid August 1931; Beltona 1753
11 : George Smith Morris (English concertina), William S Morris (piano); mid August 1931; Beltona 1753
As well as that, the review clearly states that:
So there is clearly no doubt that he played an English Concertina.
From the photo used for the cover, you can clearly see that the Concertina he played was an 8 sided Aeola & by its very size, of the Baritone range.
If any more proof were needed, here’s a clip of George playing his Concertina:
Track 12: The Buchan Scottische
There's another fascinating clip of George performing a very atmospheric number on the Rare Tunes website. On this track, Sunday Morning Ramble, he uses his Concertina to mimic the sound of Church Bells, Church Organ & Bagpipes.
Here's another photo of George dressed as The Buchan Bobby & there's lots more information on George's work as an entertainer on this page.
A Salute to Doric Heroes
Here’s a photo of the Concertina in question, today.
Here it is in an atmospheric Christmas shot.
Here’s a short video of a tune with a Christmas flavour, O Little Town of Bethlehem, to let you hear how well this Concertina sounds today .... Not bad for an 88 year old eh!
Anyway, whether this Concertina is the one George Morris played or not, it is a very fine & rare instrument & I am delighted to be its present custodian.
Cheers,
Dick
Until just a few weeks ago, it was actually in old pitch & hadn’t been played for over 50 years, so I’m absolutely delighted to be the person honoured with the task of bringing it back to life.
This Concertina was acquired by a dealer based in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, which just happens to be the home of the late, great George S Morris. George Morris had the Morris Hotel in Oldmeldrum.
The Morris Hotel, Oldmeldrum
However, his main claim to fame was that he was an entertainer & as well as recording many Both Ballads & being known locally as The King of Bothy Ballads, he was also a very fine Concertina player.
Of all the ballads he composed, his most famous is: A Pair o' Nicky Tams
Here's what Wikipedia have to say about .... Oldmeldrum
George Smith Morris and Willie Kemp, who owned the hotel before George & who was also an entertainer, both get an honourable mention.
From a few photos, I know that George played a large metal ended Aeola & from other evidence I know that it was an English Concertina, but so far, I have not been able to say with any certainty whether it was a 7 bellowed #14: 56 key Baritone, or an 8 bellowed a #15: 62 key Baritone / Treble or #16: 62 key Baritone / Treble.
I contacted the dealer in Oldmeldrum who sold this Concertina recently to an English restorer, but due to client confidentiality, he was unable to give me the name of the person he bought it from locally. However, as I used to live just up the road from Oldmeldrum, in Fyvie, and in fact used to play with the Oldmeldrum Fiddlers, who used to rehearse in a loft above the old Brewery in Oldmeldrum, I was quite happy to start makes enquiries myself. This led to me having a lovely conversation with a local lady who knew George Morris very well & as an Accordion player herself, she shared many musical evenings with him. Anyway, she was able to confirm that George died in 1958 & that his only son Bill, who had almost certainly inherited the Concertina, showed no interest in the Concertina & never learned to play it.
I know from investigations carried out by Concertina enthusiasts, in the Wheatstone Ledgers, that between 1923 [ #29678 ] & 1943 [ #35450 ] a total of only 123 Baritone Concertinas were ever made by Wheatstone.
Now of those 123, only 41 were actually metal ended, 14 being 56 key Baritones with 7 fold bellows & 27 being either 62 or 64 key Baritone / Trebles, with 8 fold bellows.
So naturally, I’m very keen to establish whether the Concertina George played actually had 7 or 8 folds.
If 8, then I’d love to be able to see from a really good photo, whether his was a 62 or 64 keyed instrument.
If 62, then as only 8 of those, like mine, were ever made, it’d be very unlikely, although of course not impossible, that two of those 8 actually ended up in the same village in Aberdeenshire.
So my search goes on ........ ;-)
As for my evidence so far, here’s a link to a review of the recording Sook and Blaw, which included a number of tracks by George Morris, including tracks 4 & 11 which read as follows:
Sook and Blaw
4 : George Smith Morris (English concertina), William S Morris (piano); mid August 1931; Beltona 1753
11 : George Smith Morris (English concertina), William S Morris (piano); mid August 1931; Beltona 1753
As well as that, the review clearly states that:
".. there are also a couple of pleasant surprises, in the form of a pair of English concertina tracks by George Smith Morris (known as 'The Buchan Cheil') .."
So there is clearly no doubt that he played an English Concertina.
From the photo used for the cover, you can clearly see that the Concertina he played was an 8 sided Aeola & by its very size, of the Baritone range.
If any more proof were needed, here’s a clip of George playing his Concertina:
Track 12: The Buchan Scottische
There's another fascinating clip of George performing a very atmospheric number on the Rare Tunes website. On this track, Sunday Morning Ramble, he uses his Concertina to mimic the sound of Church Bells, Church Organ & Bagpipes.
Here's another photo of George dressed as The Buchan Bobby & there's lots more information on George's work as an entertainer on this page.
A Salute to Doric Heroes
Here’s a photo of the Concertina in question, today.
Here it is in an atmospheric Christmas shot.
Here’s a short video of a tune with a Christmas flavour, O Little Town of Bethlehem, to let you hear how well this Concertina sounds today .... Not bad for an 88 year old eh!
Anyway, whether this Concertina is the one George Morris played or not, it is a very fine & rare instrument & I am delighted to be its present custodian.
Cheers,
Dick
