Концертина: история, виды и особенности инструмента

Free reed musical instrument
the musical instrument

A concertina is a free reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The concertina was developed independently in both England and Germany. The English version was invented in 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, while Carl Friedrich Uhlig introduced the German version five years later, in 1834. Various forms of concertina are used for classical music, for the traditional music of Ireland, England, and South Africa, and for tango and polka music. The concertina has historically been a favorite instrument among people who travel often (due to its small and compact size), leading it to be a common instrument among soldiers, sailors, and cowboys. One was even brought aboard Robert Peary's 1891 expedition of the Greenland Arctic. Despite the pop culture association of the concertina with the Golden Age of Piracy, the concertina was invented nearly 100 years after the heyday of piracy in North America.

Concertinas are members of a family of hand held bellows driven free reed instruments constructed according to various systems which differ in terms of keyboard layout and whether individual buttons (keys) produce the same (unisonoric) or different (bisonoric) notes with changes in the direction of air pressure. Because the concertina was developed nearly contemporaneously in England and Germany, systems can be broadly divided into English, Anglo German, and German types. To a player proficient in one of these systems, a concertina of a different system may be quite unfamiliar.

The English concertina and the Duet concertina bear similarities in history and construction. Both systems generally play a chromatic scale and are unisonoric, with each key producing the same note whether the bellows are being pushed or pulled. Both of these English instruments are smaller than German concertinas, and are usually hexagonal in shape, though occasionally featuring 8, 10, or 12 sides. The English system alternates the notes of the scale between two hands, enabling rapid melodies. The duet system features the lower notes on the left, and higher notes on the right, facilitating the playing of interlaced harmonies and melodies. The English concertina is credited to Sir Charles Wheatstone, who first patented such a design in 1829 in Great Britain. Wheatstone was also the first to patent a duet concertina, in 1844.

German concertinas, developed in Germany for its local market and diaspora, are usually larger than English concertinas, and are generally bisonoric, using a different style of "long plate" reeds, and are often square, as opposed to hexagonal. German concertinas also sometimes have more than one reed per note, which produces a vibrato effect if their tuning differs slightly .

Various German concertina systems share common construction features and core keyboard layout. In the United States, particularly in the Midwest where there are many German and Central European descendants, the term concertina often refers to the Chemnitzer concertina, which is bisonoric and closely related to the bandoneon, but features a different keyboard layout and decorative style, including a few mechanical innovations pioneered by German American instrument builder and inventor Otto Schlicht. A related variant is the Carlsfelder concertina from C. F. Zimmerman, created in 1849 The Chemnitzer concertina is popular among polka musicians in the American Midwest, most famously played by Li'l Wally.

The bandoneon (also rendered bandoneón, bandonion) is a German concertina system with an original bisonoric layout devised by Heinrich Band. Although intended as a substitute for the organ in small churches and chapels, it was soon secularized and is now associated with tango music due to the instrument's popularity in Argentina since the late 19th century when tango developed from various dance styles in Argentina and Uruguay. Though the typical bandoneon is bisonoric, the 1920s saw the development of unisonoric variants such as the Ernst Kusserow and Charles Peguri systems, both introduced around 1925. Bandoneons typically have more than one reed per button, dry tuned with the reeds an octave apart. "Dry" means that vibrato is absent because the tuning is accurate. the Chemnitzer in the United States as a polka instrument, and the bandoneon in Argentina as a prominent part of the tango tradition. Between World War I and World War II, there were many concertina and bandoneon bands in Germany, but with the rise of the Nazi regime these musical clubs disappeared.

The folk revival movements of the 1960s led to a modest resurgence in the popularity of the concertina, particularly the Anglo. More recently, concertina popularity again seems on the rise, particularly the Anglo in the traditional music of Ireland and England. Renewed interest in tango since the 1980s has also seen interest in the bandoneon increase. American country/folk musician Willi Carlisle has been introducing the concertina (along with the button accordion) into American country music, reflecting a general resurgence of accordions in American music as well. Traditional music playing continues in many parts of the UK in the 21st century, often using English and Anglo system concertinas. Concertinas are mass produced in Italy and China, and are produced by individual workshops in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and North America. Modern made instruments are in a spectrum of quality and traditionalism, with the most expensive instruments using traditional concertina type reeds, while mid level and inexpensive instruments take advantage of the lower price of mass produced accordion reeds.