International Concertina Association Don't squeeze alone – squeeze together!
While the winter months are with us (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) our tune of the month will take you back to warm Summer evenings, starry nights, and singing around the camp fire. This song was probably composed in Canada, around 1870. This multi-part arrangement for English concertina is taken from the Mini Tunes book arranged by Frank Butler, a former doyen of the ICA.
Download the .pdf file of Red River Valley.
For more info on the tune: see Wikipedia.
I discovered this wonderful morris tune in the Concertina World Music Supplement 435. This supplement is almost entirely dedicated to the music of William Atkinson, born at Crookham, Northumberland in 1908. He died in 2003, after spending a great many years in the company of Alistair Anderson.
One of the most known compositions of Mr. Atkinson is the Glen Aln Hornpipe. Ninety Three Not Out is a morris tune, so a lot slower than a jig. As a beginner on the English concertina, I quickly found out that the notes come out incredibly naturally. In fact, it’s very hard to stop playing it once you’ve started. The chords on this sheet come from the accordion player of the Belgian folk trio (fiddle, accordion, bass) I play double bass in.
Download the .pdf file of the tune.
Happy playing.
