AN UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL

My new “New Model” Edgley concertina is bringing me great joy!!  Since I began my traditional Irish music journey over 20 years ago, I have owned a few concertinas and tried out others.  After all this playing, I regard this New Model as the perfect instrument!  It is perfect for sessions because it has a lovely clear voice: honey against a banjo, sauce for a flute, soul-mate for a fiddle.  With a commanding volume, this instrument is a compelling member of the session even when uilleann pipes are in the mix.  The buttons are all sharply responsive, so that musical phrases ring out clearly and precisely at any speed I can achieve. The concertina is also extremely comfortable to play (not a given and important for someone who plays hours a day), never causing a hint of strain on fingers or wrist.

However, like many players, for me, session playing punctuates hours of solo practice or (fortunate, I know) duo playing with my husband (banjo, mandolin, mandola). A most pleasant surprise with the New Model is the dynamic range of the instrument.  Any musician is limited in musical expression by the physical characteristics of an instrument, having but a handful of tools to work with. I’ll bet I’m not the only one who loves playing concertina because it is so generous in expressive arrangement offerings:   notes (always in tune) can be short or dramatically long, while chords, bass or even counter-melody can be added as fits the tune and situation. The New Model adds the tantalizing option to use dynamic expression to convey musical meaning. This is a “wow” that I only hope I can live up to.  Thank you, Frank, for putting your decades of experience towards the creation of this instrument. 

Cathy K

May 3rd 2024