Don't miss the train, Gianni

[maugein96]

Nearly threw all my CBAs out when I saw this one!

Dont know much about Gianni Piazza at all, but he appears in this unashamed plug for byMarco accordions, whose workshops are in Stradella.

Most of his material leans towards classical music, although he often plays with digital music backing him, and that puts an unusual (to me) perspective on his style. He never smiles, possibly because he hasnt got the time!

The tune is Treno, which was composed by Wolmer Beltrami, who played the whole thing sitting with no shoulder straps and without using the thumb on his right hand!

I think I prefer this version. His accuracy is incredible compared to those of us who use their thumb to assist with finger position on CBA.

Unfortunately the clip starts with the usual advert, but IMHO its worth the wait, and you can always jump to the start of the tune.

 

[losthobos]

Hot....
and great tone too....

 

[maugein96]

Terry,

I think that's a 4 voice box, but a lot of Italian CBA players use LMM, same as us. byMarco is not a household name outside of Italy, but together with Stocco and Ropa, they make fantastic instruments with superb tone that seldom stray from Italian shores. They follow the French practice of having the treble couplers on the rear, or more likely the French followed their example when they began to make their own instruments. "Belgian" bass is a direct "lift" from the "modenese" system, still found in parts of Emilia Romagna.

Carlo Venturi, credited with being the most famous of all Italian CBA players, used both makes, as well as Excelsior. He died very young, and is probably now just a distant name in Italy, except among accordionists.

BobM resurrected my interest in Liscio, which I "discovered" after I had been playing a while. It can get a bit repetitive, like French musette, but maybe that's why I like it, as it leans towards being "easy" to play.

EDIT:- Looks like Stocco and Ropa are possibly now in the list of "former accordion makers", but I do believe byMarco is still there, hanging by however many threads. They certainly market more aggressively than the other two did.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

Yeah, he's not too bad.

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Hi Stephen,

Glad you appreciated it.

To be honest, I seldom post clips of French and Italian players on the forum these days, unless it is in connection with general accordion discussion.

When I was new to the forum it took me a long time to realise that CBA accordionists playing French musette, and Italian Liscio, Filuzzi, or whatever, did not appeal to everybody, but the penny finally dropped. One or two members who were disposed towards those styles have now left the forum, so I'm now preaching to an altogether smaller congregation, and often find it difficult to rein myself in.

I had a lapse with this one, but IMHO he was just that little bit different.

I have tried getting into folk, classical, and even jazz, in an effort to follow more mainstream topics, but I reckon if I had an interest in any of those it would have developed before I was drawing my old age pension.

Variety is the spice of life, but vindaloo is definitely a spice not appreciated by all. I quite like vindaloo, so maybe that's a reflection on my oddball choices in music!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

I was only being humorous. It is a beautiful tune, and the accordionist is excellent.

Funnily enough, I am quite partial to French Café Music.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Stephen,

I realised you were mickey taking, but when I came back on the forum recently I promised myself that I would stop posting on the "I like That Board", as hardly anything has gone on there this year, and nobody else other than me was putting much on there for a good while before that. I have some Peruvian flute music somewhere that might do better, or how about "The song of the Belgian Waterslager (or Malinois) Canary?" I used to breed them at one time, but got jealous that they were more musical than I was.

I would put French Cafe Music under "Easy Listening", rather than "French musette", as it's not really the same thing to we musette snobs.

It's only in the last few years that I've started to appreciate French "chanson" played as instrumental music on accordion.

Terry playing all those big chords on his nostalgic tracks prompted me to try slowing things down a bit. I was a bit of a speed merchant, who are referred to as a "Too fast Tam" up here in the frozen north, and often tried to play tunes at faster tempo than they were written. That only really works if you can play to a very high standard. The French guy, Denis Tuveri, played everything very fast and when people asked him to consider the dancers he would just say "Well they knew I would be playing, so they'll just have to speed up with me or sit down and listen." I used to have some of his handwritten scores, which I think he also wrote at 100mph, as they were very difficult to read. He was married to Lina Bossati, who played piano for Marcel Azzola. None of those people will be household names anywhere these days, but they were bill toppers in France in their day.

I threw Denis Tuveri's scores away during a clear out when I discovered they were actually photocopies, and the best speed I can get out of my Maugein is 96mph in any case!

EDIT:- Sorry, to anybody who noticed my error, I was wailing about the European Music Board, and got them mixed up (again). I do apologise, and see that quite a few members have posted on the "I Like That Board" recently. The year on the calendar in my house is 1958. I used to be 50 years behind everybody else in my own little accordion world, but decided I'd better add 10 to that.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

The truth is that I like a very wide range of music. I am seldom parochial about music, though I obviously have my preferences.

My ability (or lack thereof) to distinguish between French Café Music & French Musette is probably quite telling, but I seem to like them both despite my inability to differentiate between the two.

Take it Easy, Old Scout.

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Stephen,

In general terms French "cafe" music is usually played on PA with three voice musette, often by artistes masquerading as French types, but who may never have been to France in their lives. A lot of the material is recorded in eastern Europe, and the players are usually pretty clever.

French musette is usually played on CBA by the "natives", three voice musette isn't normally the preferred tuning, and in days gone by was distinctly rougher round the edges that all that "smooth" legato PA stuff.

The tuning of the instruments, phrasing, and general delivery is the give away for those of us sad enough to be analytical about it. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference, and I suppose it doesn't really matter so long as you enjoy it. Chances are that even French nationals wouldn't be able to tell the difference these days.

A lot of Italian players also dabble in the "Parigi" musette, but again their phrasing and slightly more exaggerated bellows movement typical of Italian playing is the give away. One or two of them "beat" me on first listening, but with patience I can usually tell a Bolognese from a Bourgignon, if that's an appropriate way to put it. Probably not, but I'm not an educated man.

Think of a Londoner listening to Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

Well, I'm from Lancashire, and I know how bad Dick's London accent is in Mary Poppins. Please, whatever you do, don't mention Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang. I have an irrational hatred of that film, especially that damned song, and am likely to do violence to my laptop.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Hi Stephen,

Problem with we types whose musical interests are basically centred around one genre is we get hypercritical if "that" sound isn't right. Fortunately the French musette style is not confined to "French" music and a lot of different accordion tunings crop up in the repertoire. It doesn't really matter which register a player uses to play a particular tune, and the selection is entirely of their choice.

The only thing that rattles my cage is when CDs are made for sale to the unsuspecting public purporting to be "genuine French Cafe music" when the truth is that they are nothing of the kind.

I do believe I've also seen "Scottish Accordion Favourites" by "Hoochter McTeuchter" , or whatever Scottish sounding name they can dream up. Or " Ould Irish songs your mammy knew" by the "Paddy O'Sullivan Quartet", when Paddy is actually a Romanian waitress named Nadia, who just happens to be a dab hand on the accordion on her days off!

Does it really matter at the end of the day? Is it fraud? Considering the typical price of the CDs concerned then I don't suppose it is. If people like listening to the music at that price then so be it. Things like Spotify are putting their gas at a peep in any case.

 

[Tom]

So yeah, I'm one of those guys that likes liscio and balli di gruppo. So keep 'em coming, no problem. I watch most of Fisarmonicando but I have to say, this type of solo, virtuistic playing doesn't really appeal to me that much. I mean it's impressive to see the bymarco players jam a million notes in a few seconds, but I prefer the more soulful playing of some of the other dance bands. Just saying.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

As I say .......... anything but Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It drives me daft and, just when you think it's finishing, the damned thing kicks off again. Hateful racket !!!!

Forgive my ignorance with regard to French Musette/Café Music. I only play a couple of Edith Piaf numbers, after which I'm all at sea. Brenda loves my rendition of "La Vie en Rose", though I no longer know what category that tune falls into. Anyway, to me it's French. (though you may yet tell me different)

Take it Easy, Old Scout.

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

So yeah, Im one of those guys that likes liscio and balli di gruppo. So keep em coming, no problem. I watch most of Fisarmonicando but I have to say, this type of solo, virtuistic playing doesnt really appeal to me that much. I mean its impressive to see the bymarco players jam a million notes in a few seconds, but I prefer the more soulful playing of some of the other dance bands. Just saying.

Hi Tom,

Some of the Italian players love to show off their skills, and Id never heard of this guy until I found the clip. I agree with you about the choice of music, and I prefer listening to stuff that I may have a reasonable chance of being able to play!

I dont know all that much about Italian accordion, but a friend of mine told me about Carlo Venturi and Gigi Stok, maybe 25 years ago, and I discovered other CBA players from the Emilia Romagna area. What fascinated me was the CBA accordions arranged French style with the couplers on the rear and the stepped mushroom bass buttons. I do believe that French makers probably copied that configuration fom accordions which had been brought to France from the area around Bologna where they seem to be popular, but Im not sure.

Ill need to check out Fisarmonicando. There used to be a live streaming site featuring Italian accordion with a name similar to that, but I havent been on it for some years, and have forgotten what its called. I sometimes blow hot and cold with the accordion and dont play very much these days, so Im sort of on and off the forum at times.

I do believe weve spoken on here before when I was a bit more active on the forum, and Im glad you like Italian music.

 

[maugein96]

Hi John,

As I say .......... anything but Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It drives me daft and, just when you think its finishing, the damned thing kicks off again. Hateful racket !!!!

Forgive my ignorance with regard to French Musette/Café Music. I only play a couple of Edith Piaf numbers, after which Im all at sea. Brenda loves my rendition of La Vie en Rose, though I no longer know what category that tune falls into. Anyway, to me its French. (though you may yet tell me different)

Take it Easy, Old Scout.

Stephen.

Stephen,

I do believe I have it in one of the volumes of the 110 Succes Musette series, so even the French cannot make up their minds whether it is a chanson, or part of the general musette repertoire. I have absolutely no idea what it is, although it will definitely turn up in those Cafe Music compilations Im not so keen on.

Poor Edith confounded all the medical experts who kept advising her that alcohol and drugs would terminate her life early.

They got it all wrong, as she made it until she was 47. La Vie en rose, blanc, rouge, absinthe, and opiates did for her.

Just play it and enjoy it in the cafe, the pub, or whatever open air venue you prefer. Somebody once told me it must be played in F, and thats precisely were I told them to go. Play it in whatever key suits your instrument best.

 

[Tom]

Ciao Maugein,

You can find Fisarmonicando on youtube, it's bymarco's (Marco Cagiada) accordion variety show. It features a lot of this type of solo accordion plus some bands, interviews, inside jokes, etc. It's in Italian, which I don't know if you speak. I like it. Yeah, I play and listen to a lot of Italian music, mostly traditional, and post on here occasionally. We have spoken of this music generally, always a pleasure!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

I once read a report about Edith Piaf's death which, though I believe it to be true, actually sounds fairly preposterous.

Edith died in the South of France, but her agent thought it best that her death was registered in Paris. Her body (or so the story goes) was sat in the back of a car, and driven overnight to Paris.

Her life was quite bizarre, so it seems fitting that her death should have an unusual twist.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Stephen,

I don't think there will have been many artistes who had such eventful lives as Edith Piaf. I don't know whether what you've said is true but I wouldn't be surprised. She was even charged with murder at one point, but was obviously acquitted.

Drugs, prostitution,(her relations apparently ran a brothel in Normandy), protection rackets, and every other underworld dodge you can think of, haunted the music scene in the Paris of her day. I don't know if it will be much different these days either, as I've never been near it. I've only been to Paris twice in my life and never even heard an accordion on the radio, never mind in the streets or cafes. If I never made it a third time it wouldn't bother me at all. The music is great, but I'm an "anti-tourist". After I've been barged into several times by Kamikaze types pouring out of tour coaches with a camera dangling from each finger I start to lose interest. I also object to paying Scandinavian prices (or worse) in the southern part of Europe.

If I want a bit of French flavour I'll go to quieter places in the north where the air doesn't cost 5 Euros for each breath. I hate cities, and so far Paris is top of my league. If I want to look at nice buildings I go to the former Yugoslavia where you just need to get used to imagining the bullet holes aren't there!

I'm off back to bouzoukiland this month. I can play a little, but you'd need to be a native Greek to be able to memorise all the scales necessary to play solo, and start learning very young. Might even hear an accordion or two as we're going to the mainland. It's my guess that sort of accordion music wouldn't be your bag either. As soon as a singer appears I'm off, as I can't really hack that part of the music at all. I'm better at wailing and moaning than they are!

 

[maugein96]

Ciao Maugein,

You can find Fisarmonicando on youtube, its bymarcos (Marco Cagiada) accordion variety show. It features a lot of this type of solo accordion plus some bands, interviews, inside jokes, etc. Its in Italian, which I dont know if you speak. I like it. Yeah, I play and listen to a lot of Italian music, mostly traditional, and post on here occasionally. We have spoken of this music generally, always a pleasure!

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the info about Fisarmonicando. If I can ever find that other fisarmonica site I mentioned Ill put a post on about it.

Unfortunately, like most UK types Im monolingual, although I did pick up a bit of Norwegian and Dutch along the way. My interest in French musette has to be maintained with schoolboy French and dictionaries. A friend of mine got me listening to Italian accordion, but I still dont know much about it. There were at least another two members on here who shared our interest, but they appear to have left the forum, which Im also prone to do (so far temporarily) when my interest wanes a bit.

Marcos instruments do not appear to be very well known outside of Italy, along with Stocco and Ropa, which both seem to have gone out of business. I love the tone of those instruments, and its a pity that few people outside of Italy will have ever heard them.

The two names I first discovered were Carlo Venturi and Gigi Stok, and when things like You Tube appeared I concentrated on them. Everything I seemed to find when looking for CBA players was centred on Emilia Romagna, with particular emphasis on the Bologna area, and I think it was former member BobM, who mentioned Filuzzi on the forum.

I may have mentioned this before, but when I lived in Edinburgh just about every music shop had at least one Paolo Soprani Internazionale CBA. I was fascinated by them and discovered that they were popular with Italian players in the city. I never played at the time, but they got me wondering. I couldnt justify the expense at that time as they were never cheap, and I think the only player I heard playing one was Oreste Politi, or maybe one of his sons, who owned a small shop in the city.

When I decided to go for the accordion my first wife said I should play French, and thats the way it happened. It probably wasnt the wisest choice for me and if I had managed to find an Italian teacher I would probably would have broken the bank and got a big Paolo.

As I say most of my pleasure these days is from listening, as self taught accordion turned out to be just beyond my reach.

Ive put a couple of Italian tracks on the I like that board in the meantime, but I think Ill need to maybe put a bit of variety into the posts.

 

[Tom]

Hi again Maugein,

A lot of the young "hip" players seem to play bymarco accordion, incidentally from Stradella and not Castelfidardo. I have never tried one but would like to, I imagine they are very nice. I seem to see Italian people playing a lot of Stocco (still active), Cooperfisa, Paolo Soprani. My main instrument is a Piatanesi which incidentally I see a lot of Brazilians play, but I like some vintage Scandallis and my Hohner Corona. I never played a French accordion, they don't seem that common in the US.

I remember those posts a while back about the Filuzzi and those interesting organetti without bass. So much music, so ltitle time!

Have you seen Sere in Festa? It's another youtube variety show with a lot of dance music (and pop if you like that) not all but some accordion from the Verona area.