Vintage accordions often sound sweet when playing folk music or traditional hymn tunes. This vintage Hohner features a rather beguiling set of tones which seem to especially come alive while performing in certain keys or treble registers. Here I am playing in the key of D minor and calling upon G minor, D minor, B flat, C7 and F to accentuate the characteristic voice of the melody. There is a yearning, haunting quality to this music which breathes throughout in a natural, flowing manner, each phrase speaking as if to the interior of the heart or the inner chambers of one's spirit. Because the accordion fits so closely to the musician's chest, you can feel the resonance emanating from the body of the instrument, sensing the pulse of the music in your fingertips and hands, arms, and legs. It is a dynamic relationship between the player and the bass and treble sections, a heightened sense of awareness as one listens to the passages in musical presentation.
This Southern American folk melody is performed on my vintage 1930's Hohner Regina VI, a 4/ 5 reed instrument with 16" keyboard and a full 41 treble keys as well as 120 standard Stradella bass. Anonymous 4 performs this traditional song on their album entitled "Gloryland," kind of a continuation of their fabulous artistry on the previous album entitled "American Angels: Songs of Hope, Redemption and Glory." (Anonymous 4 includes Susan Hellauer, Marsha Genensky, Johanna Maria Rose, and Ruth Cunningham.) I believe that Joan Baez performed this song either in her very popular concerts or in some of her many recordings.
Vintage accordions often sound sweet when playing folk music or traditional hymn tunes. This vintage Hohner features a rather beguiling set of tones which seem to especially come alive while performing in certain keys or treble registers. Here I am playing in the key of D minor and calling upon G minor, D minor, B flat, C7 and F to accentuate the characteristic voice of the melody. There is a yearning, haunting quality to this music which breathes throughout in a natural, flowing manner, each phrase speaking as if to the interior of the heart or the inner chambers of one's spirit. Because the accordion fits so closely to the musician's chest, you can feel the resonance emanating from the body of the instrument, sensing the pulse of the music in your fingertips and hands, arms, and legs. It is a dynamic relationship between the player and the bass and treble sections, a heightened sense of awareness as one listens to the passages in musical presentation.
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A classical favorite performed on my vintage 1930's Hohner Regina VI, a 4/ 5 reed accordion with the traditional 41/ 120 treble key and bass button configuration. The keyboard is only 16.5 inches in length, and the action feels quite a bit different from more modern instruments. But what a sound this petite instrument makes! This has been tuned and restored by my friend Jerry, one of the most remarkable technicians I have ever met.
This Hohner was built in 1938 and features a rather remarkable sound from those distinctive Hohner reeds. I have never heard another 1930's vintage accordion quite like this one. The tones seem to exude a ringing and innately joyous texture from the unique tuning of the reeds. My friend Jerry Sleger did extensive work on this instrument to bring it up to playable condition, including tuning of bass and treble sections, replacement of worn leather strips and re-waxing quite a few reeds where the old wax had weathered. The result is a vintage instrument which now breathes with new life and a wild sonic texture. Here I am playing the famous Classical piece by Jeremiah Clarke (1673-1707), a composition which has always been one of my favorites. The sheet music is from Volume Four of "Das Grosse Akkordeon-Buch" (Le Grand Album pour l'Accordeon), published by Edition Melodie, Anton Peterer Music & Books, Zurich, Switzerland. All of the songs in this four volume set have been collected and arranged by Herwig Peychaer. This Israeli Folk Chant is arranged by the esteemed scholar and accordion teacher Elsie M. Bennett and published by Pietro Deiro Publications. The collection of songs is entitled "Hebrew and Jewish Songs and Dances - Volume I." Elsie Bennett (nee Blum) received a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University Teachers College in New York, also receiving a Music Bachelors degree from Wayne University in Detroit (majoring in theory and composition). Performed upon my vintage Hohner Regina VI accordion, a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMM configuration, with a date of manufacture originating in 1938. I love the sound of these vintage Hohner reeds. Most of today's accordions simply do not sound like this. The strong wooden frame must add a lot of dimensional integrity to the projection of both treble and bass voices. There are only two treble settings, one lighter dry musette register and then the full master register with all voices sounding. Remarkably, the external appearance of this accordion shows almost no signs of wear or missing decorative trim, despite its 76 year lifespan. When we find instruments like this, we treasure them. When I bought the accordion, I asked the seller about the history behind this instrument. He told me that it once belonged to someone's grandfather who cherished it. When the grandfather passed away, the grandson decided to part with it rather than to keep it for sentimental reasons. You really have to see this instrument in person in order to fully appreciate the decorative qualities of the ornamental grill and precise details of its artistic design. There are sparkling jewels set into the grill which flash iridescent colors when struck with light. The carving of the grill area shows extraordinary attention to precise shape and artistic pattern. The black decorative trim and lettering add measures of enchantment to the overall ivory/ cream color scheme on the exterior. This Hohner is a relatively lightweight instrument with a rather petite 16.5 inch keyboard. Yet it is the sound which still attracts me and belies its diminutive but charming size. An improvisation upon the theme of hiking in Arizona while exploring a canyon north of Tortilla Flat. Many years ago a friend revealed this site to me as we traversed the entire length and breadth of this natural corridor along the desert landscape. I would guess that the entire length of the canyon is several thousand feet, bordered by sheer walls which must ascend up to 400 or 500 feet. It had rained days before we made our journey and we discovered small rivulets of cool water which could barely be called a stream, lined with yellow-green lichen and moss, meandering through the floor of the canyon. There were pools of dark water which reflected the brilliant orange sunlight from above, giant boulders which you had to jump across, and an impression of ancient permanence in the majesty of this place. I recalled the mysterious beauty of Claude Debussy's "The Sunken Cathedral" as we hiked along the vast corridor stretched out before us. The area toward the south of the canyon opens up and allows a more spacious view of the surrounding desert landscape. When you climb back up toward the roadway above and then look down to see where you have been, you almost cannot believe the extraordinary depth and size of this area. It is truly a breathtaking journey well worth the time and effort it takes to fully explore this magnificent environment.
Performed upon my vintage 1930's Hohner Regina VI accordion, a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMM configuration. Two previous videos have featured improvisations which explore impressionistic themes associated with this canyon. "Lyric Poem for Accordion" posted 2/6/2014 with my vintage Iorio (video length 8:34) and "Fanfares & Reveries for Vintage Hohner" posted 9/13/2011 (video length 5:08) This video provides another example of what I call "painting with reeds" or imagining space, form, line, rhythm and color via the impressionistic music of a vintage accordion. Arizona is a special place for outdoor adventures including hiking, sightseeing and day-trips. Years ago I was brought face to face with an extraordinary canyon just north of Tortilla Flat, Arizona. A friend who once worked as a Forest Ranger showed me this location and we spent the entire day exploring the majesty of the Arizona landscape. Improvisation gives the musician an opportunity to record feelings and impressions which may otherwise be inexpressible or unsearchable. In this music I am recording both the majesty and the wonder of this remarkable area, utilizing the reeds of the instrument as my orchestra. There is often a pulse or breath of life which animates the scenery and vistas of a particular location, a sense of Divine handiwork which captures our imagination and may hold our interest for hours or days afterwards. In this case, I am remembering the vast perspectives and colorful details as seen from both below and above the canyon's corridors, as if the entire picture could be displayed via the textures and phrases of music. Manufactured in 1938, the Hohner Regina VI features a unique sonic signature which often reminds me of the power and characteristic versatility of a large pipe organ. I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Jerry who tuned and restored this instrument, replacing worn parts and adjusting the inner mechanism to achieve remarkable results. Here is a 76 year old instrument which still speaks in a rather poetic and artistic manner, allowing the musician to "paint" via a set of extraordinary German reeds, providing a picture which remains indelibly etched in one's visual, tactile and sonic memory. This American song is a memorial tribute to President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), with words written by Edwin S. Babbitt and music composed by L. B. Miller. Originally published in 1865 by Root & Cady in Chicago and marked "Quartette," for mixed voices (4 parts) with piano. The sheet music I am using is published by Hal Leonard under the title "A Treasury of Civil War Songs: 25 Songs of the Union and the Confederacy," collected, edited and arranged by folksinger Tom Glazer. Performed upon my vintage 1930's Hohner Regina VI accordion, a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMM configuration.
Folksinger Tom Glazer (1914-2003) collected many Civil War era songs and published them under the title "A Treasury of Civil War Songs: 25 Songs of the Union and the Confederacy," issued in 1996 through Hal Leonard. From this collection I found the haunting hymn-like tune entitled "The President's Grave," with words by Edwin S. Babbitt and music by L. B. Miller. I love vintage accordions and find that they often impart a culturally rich resonance to songs of a bygone era, helping modern ears to hear anew historical treasures which may have inherently special character. This tune is written in the key of E flat major, with some chords in G minor and F diminished, under the notation to play the song "Solemnly." The reeds on this particular Hohner sound very much at home in this key, lending a sense of noble purpose and reflective solemnity as the music draws us closer to the heroic life and tragic death of President Lincoln. There are certain sounds and tonalities heard on a vintage accordion which seem to accentuate the resonances of the music as it is written and received, especially when the subject matter is as historically powerful and significant as this truly remarkable song. The hat I'm wearing is a reproduction of a Union Officer's kepi with the military rank of either Captain or Major, made of dark blue wool and lined with cotton and leather. The gold stripes and overall form of the hat's shape are derived from the French pattern, often seen in the French Army and the French Foreign Legion. This particular kepi was procured via eBay from a store called "Under the Southern Cross," maintained by owner/ proprietor Finandel. A German folksong performed upon my vintage 1938 Hohner Regina VI accordion, a 4/5 reed instrument in LMMM configuration. The sheet music is published by Edition Melodie in a songbook entitled "Das Grosse Akkordeon-Buch - Volume Three" (Le Grand Album pour l'Accordeon), Anton Peterer Music & Books, Zurich, Switzerland. All of the songs in this collection have been arranged by Herwig Peychaer.
This 1930's vintage Hohner accordion features some very distinctive treble sounds and possesses quite a powerful bass section, even though it is a relatively small instrument with a petite 16 inch keyboard. Internally the accordion displays a very strong wooden frame with good workmanship on the reed-blocks and those remarkable German reeds. My friend Jerry tuned the instrument, provided new wax and leathers, and adjusted the bass mechanism as well as the treble keyboard. Without Jerry's help this instrument would not have been playable. European folk-songs often sound so completely at home on a good vintage accordion such as this one. The external appearance of this instrument is still in remarkably fine condition, featuring a beautiful ivory/cream color, ornate black lettering and decorative details, exhibiting an extraordinary mother-of-pearl keyboard and suffering almost no scratches or missing pieces of exterior trim. The grill section above the keyboard is embedded with sparkling accents of various exotic hues and features superlative carving of the materials used in manufacture at that time. In many respects I prefer the sound of the 1930's accordions to the more modern instruments which came later. One professional accordionist once described such vintage instruments as sounding more like a large harmonica than a typical accordion. That's true, for the timbres sound so alive and thrilling that one might temporarily believe the musician is indeed playing...."a glorified harmonica!" Vintage Hohner Regina VI - a beautiful accordion from 1938
I bought this accordion several years ago and had it tuned and restored by my friend Jerry. It is in remarkable condition overall, with only a few small cosmetic imperfections, with almost all of the original trim still intact, one of the finest examples of its kind I have ever seen. The tone is quite wonderful, with a bass richness and resonance which reminds me of a large pipe organ, and treble registers which sing fluently through those distinctive reeds. The Regina features 4 treble reeds in LMMM configuration, 5 rows of bass reeds in the bass section, the typical 41/ 120 treble key and bass button combination, two changes in the treble voices, a rather petite 16 inch keyboard, and a very strong wooden frame. The color is a unique ivory or antique cream with black decorative accents and lettering. The outer part of the bellows appears to be a gold color, with silver as an inner lining. Jerry painstakingly redid the wax for all the reeds, replaced many of the worn leathers, re-aligned both bass and keyboard sections and added some new gaskets to improve compression. I have never heard another accordion quite like this one, although I have heard similar accordions from the 1930's played by other players or demonstrated via the internet. An enthusiast named Edi has restored and tuned many vintage Hohner accordions and posted a roster of models with accompanying sound samples. Edi's site is named "The Akkordeon-Museum" (www.akkordeon-museum.de). The photography and detailed information on each model is simply spectacular. The audio sound samples give an idea of what some of the early and later Hohner models sound like by hearing each accordion play a specific song. |
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