Concertina virtuoso Simon Thoumire and historical keyboard specialist David McGuinness have known each other for a very long time, but only rarely have had the chance to play music together. They started meeting up to play for fun, to lighten the long months of lockdown with no chance to play to an audience. Before long they’d built up an album’s worth of repertoire which includes work by forgotten Scottish women composers, tricky tunes by Finnish friends, a Victorian religious parlour song, a duo for baroque flutes by William McGibbon, and some banging reels by Robert Mackintosh.
Since winning the BBC Radio 2 Young Tradition award in 1989 Simon Thoumire has built a unique place for the English concertina in the world of Scottish traditional music and beyond. His music has encompassed folk, jazz, improvisation and his own compositions, and he is also a tireless advocate for traditional music with the organisation Hands Up For Trad and the Scots Trad Music Awards.
David McGuinness has been involved with historical Scottish music for the last 30 years with Concerto Caledonia, while also pursuing many other musical avenues and collaborations, playing as many obscure keyboard instruments as possible, and composing and producing for television and radio.
credits
released June 10, 2022
Recorded and edited by David McGuinness
Mastered by Calum Malcolm
An AOK Anniesland Occasionals production for Diagram 5
Recorded in the University of Glasgow concert hall, 3 January 2022
Session producer and oatcake consumer Luca Guariento
Piano technician Allan Wright
Instruments:
Wheatstone Aeola tenor-treble English concertina, c. 1925
fortepiano by Paul McNulty 1988 after Walter, c. 1792
grand piano by Erard, c. 1880 (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11)
melodica: Yamaha P-37D pianica (tracks 8-10)
Thanks to all these people who provided us with tunes:
Timo Alakotila, Ian Carr, Emma Engström & Frida Höfling
(232 Stränger), Elizabeth Ford, Veera Kuisma, Aaron McGregor, Sandrine Pasquier, Hélène Witcher
and to Calum Scott and everyone at University of Glasgow Music
So pleased to see your second album on its way. I’ve just about worn a hole in your first CD because I love it so much. Cannae wait due the whole thing to appear on 4th May. The taster track is AWESOME!! 🙏 floradouglas
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