How Did I Miss That?

[Walker]

If my memory serves me correctly, it was 2010, I can't remember the exact month, and I was in the house one quiet afternoon playing my new accordion, a glossy black Dallape Supermaestro V. I put the accordion down for a while and unwrapped the cellophane from a CD of Richard Galliano. I knew he was a famous Jazz and Tango accordionist, and I liked him, but didn't really love those styles of music. Certainly, I had not heard him play much of the classical stuff. I always enjoyed classical, though I never played it (too busy gigging with the ceilidh music), but had listened to countless classical accordionists who were always well-starched soloists, and had a penchant for hammering-out the Toccata & Fugue in D minor, with bellows wide enough to rival a Golden Eagle's wingspan.

Anyway, where was I, oh yes, 2010, and the CD was called Richard Galliano: Bach. This, I thought to myself, might be a difficult listen. However, I was surprised to find it wasn't. In fact it was an unusual recording. He seemed to be backed by a chamber orchestra. Never heard much free bass either. I assumed he was a stradella man - a Victoria playing stradella man. I listened a few times. Nice sounding box, I thought, then the CD ended up being stored away somewhere. It never saw the light of day again... until today.

Back to 17th January 2023, and my six year old son, who had invested in a CD player last week, decided to dig around in a box for things to play. School was snowed out today! Anyway, he found a CD, and Galliano struck up with the Badinerie in full swing. It was the old Bach CD. What a great box player! (I thought to myself) as I worked on from my home office. How did I not appreciate this guy's classical music more back when I heard it all those years earlier?
Then as the tracks played, I realised how amazing this recording really was. Bang, track 6 - the Cello Suite (Prelude) in G major - on the bass, like any self-respecting free bass accordion virtuoso! Flawless and musical. I had seen a YouTube video of this piece recently and not realised it was on the CD. What's more, back in the day, I had not understood that he was playing the tune on his bass - I thought it was just an incredibly beautiful tune on the bassoon voice of his treble. Wrong!

Tune after tune, each one a gem, I reached track 10, the Siciliano (Sonata for Flute and Harpsichord no 2 in Eb major) and I started hearing Galliano's soft and plump bass runs combined with that slightly plaintive clarinet register of the treble - all mixed with swirling strings - heady stuff! It was then I understood this musician anew. He was and is a genius.

Finally, Contrapunctus I (The Art of Fugue), on accordion with no backing - just two hands on two manuals of a free bass accordion. In a maze of harmonies, a towering cathedral of music was built. How did I manage to miss this brilliance before today!

These wonderful tracks, from one of the greatest musicians to ever hold an accordion are a marvel and I will listen to them over and over again. But the tunes are pretty good too, after all, J.S. Bach is the daddy of all composers...

 

[temryd]

What a wonderful performance by an accordion artist....thanks for sharing.

 

[petch]

Then album doesn't seem to be on his Spotify so I ordered a 'very good' condition CD off ebay for a few quid

Many of my friends dismiss my accordion interest (I can't do the instrument much justice) but none have complained when Richard Galliano has come through my car speakers whilst I take them on a trip somewhere!

 

[Ffingers]

A musician is a musician is a musician...
That one is brilliant at whatever he chooses to do, it seems.
I am reminded of the principal trumpet of the London Philharmonic of some years ago whose presence at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London as a 'ring in' on anything brass and occasionally, harmonica, was always well recieved.

 

[debra]

Richard Galliano uses melody bass more often than you think. He was the first accordion player I saw play the quint-convertor, which I found a strange choice for a CBA player, because having the same system left and right should be easier than playing CBA on the right and quint-convertor on the left. But anyone, he does it brilliantly.

 

[Simon Max]

He is an amazing player and an amazing person. Among other things, he plays the Trombone, too.
He was the main reason that I choose the French layout ( and not the Russian layout) when going over to CBA.

 

[Pipemajor]

If my memory serves me correctly, it was 2010, I can't remember the exact month, and I was in the house one quiet afternoon playing my new accordion, a glossy black Dallape Supermaestro V. I put the accordion down for a while and unwrapped the cellophane from a CD of Richard Galliano. I knew he was a famous Jazz and Tango accordionist, and I liked him, but didn't really love those styles of music. Certainly, I had not heard him play much of the classical stuff. I always enjoyed classical, though I never played it (too busy gigging with the ceilidh music), but had listened to countless classical accordionists who were always well-starched soloists, and had a penchant for hammering-out the Toccata & Fugue in D minor, with bellows wide enough to rival a Golden Eagle's wingspan.

Anyway, where was I, oh yes, 2010, and the CD was called Richard Galliano: Bach. This, I thought to myself, might be a difficult listen. However, I was surprised to find it wasn't. In fact it was an unusual recording. He seemed to be backed by a chamber orchestra. Never heard much free bass either. I assumed he was a stradella man - a Victoria playing stradella man. I listened a few times. Nice sounding box, I thought, then the CD ended up being stored away somewhere. It never saw the light of day again... until today.

Back to 17th January 2023, and my six year old son, who had invested in a CD player last week, decided to dig around in a box for things to play. School was snowed out today! Anyway, he found a CD, and Galliano struck up with the Badinerie in full swing. It was the old Bach CD. What a great box player! (I thought to myself) as I worked on from my home office. How did I not appreciate this guy's classical music more back when I heard it all those years earlier?
Then as the tracks played, I realised how amazing this recording really was. Bang, track 6 - the Cello Suite (Prelude) in G major - on the bass, like any self-respecting free bass accordion virtuoso! Flawless and musical. I had seen a YouTube video of this piece recently and not realised it was on the CD. What's more, back in the day, I had not understood that he was playing the tune on his bass - I thought it was just an incredibly beautiful tune on the bassoon voice of his treble. Wrong!

Tune after tune, each one a gem, I reached track 10, the Siciliano (Sonata for Flute and Harpsichord no 2 in Eb major) and I started hearing Galliano's soft and plump bass runs combined with that slightly plaintive clarinet register of the treble - all mixed with swirling strings - heady stuff! It was then I understood this musician anew. He was and is a genius.

Finally, Contrapunctus I (The Art of Fugue), on accordion with no backing - just two hands on two manuals of a free bass accordion. In a maze of harmonies, a towering cathedral of music was built. How did I manage to miss this brilliance before today!

These wonderful tracks, from one of the greatest musicians to ever hold an accordion are a marvel and I will listen to them over and over again. But the tunes are pretty good too, after all, J.S. Bach is the daddy of all composers...

I'm just a country bumpkin and not really in to classical music, but, after listening to this, my copy is already on order.
I'm speechless

 

[Siegmund]

Thanks for sharing.

I never searched for Galliano recordings because, like you, I thought of him as "a jazz man" and jazz wasn't my thing (though I did listen to a little bit of his jazz just because I liked the sound of other Victorias I heard.)

He was the first accordion player I saw play the quint-convertor, which I found a strange choice for a CBA player, because having the same system left and right should be easier than playing CBA on the right and quint-convertor on the left

It seems a little less strange to me -- as someone who started on Stradella CBA, it actually seems like quite a difficult choice as I ponder tackling my first free-bass instrument: keep my left hand doing what it already knows how to do, just in 3 octaves instead of 1, or start over with the left hand in hopes of gaining more flexibility in the long run? If someone started on free bass from the beginning, then yes, I'd think CBA-pattern on both hands was obvious.

Then album doesn't seem to be on his Spotify so I ordered a 'very good' condition CD off ebay for a few quid

If anyone can't bear to wait for their new CDs to come, the whole album is on youtube, first hit if you type 'galliano bach' into the search bar. The tracks with orchestra are wonderful too.

 

[saundersbp]

A musician is a musician is a musician...

I'm just a country bumpkin and not really in to classical music,

I never searched for Galliano recordings because, like you, I thought of him as "a jazz man" and jazz wasn't my thing

I'd agree music is music and to worry too much about - I like this genre or that genre - leaves you in a silo missing out on some great stuff.
Speaking for myself I've never explored folk music on the accordion as I'd put it in a silo as 'not for me'. So that's exactly what I'm learning to play now, really interesting and I'm enjoying it so far with baby steps.

 

[Pipemajor]

I'd agree music is music and to worry too much about - I like this genre or that genre - leaves you in a silo missing out on some great stuff.
Speaking for myself I've never explored folk music on the accordion as I'd put it in a silo as 'not for me'. So that's exactly what I'm learning to play now, really interesting and I'm enjoying it so far with baby steps.

I've never really understood what is meant by "folk music".
I would have thought that, disregarding the computer generated stuff, all music starts as folk, composed by folk who project some aspect of their lives or thoughts in music.
When I said I wasn't really in to classical music, what I should have said is if I don't care for a tune or type of music I prefer not to listen to it, whether it is "classical" modern jazz pop, or whatever.
Most people would run a mile if they heard piobaireachd, the classical music the the great highland bagpipe and in some cases I would be right behind them, yet in others, the music is absolutely breathtaking.
It's the same I suppose in all genres. Horses for courses

 

[Walker]

It seems a little less strange to me -- as someone who started on Stradella CBA, it actually seems like quite a difficult choice as I ponder tackling my first free-bass instrument: keep my left hand doing what it already knows how to do, just in 3 octaves instead of 1, or start over with the left hand in hopes of gaining more flexibility in the long run? If someone started on free bass from the beginning, then yes, I'd think CBA-pattern on both hands was obvious.

Thank you Siegmund for sharing your thoughts here. When we try to weigh-up the pros and cons in a decision making process there can be many different competing ideas, it's not easy to choose...

He is an amazing player and an amazing person. Among other things, he plays the Trombone, too.
He was the main reason that I choose the French layout ( and not the Russian layout) when going over to CBA.

I agree with Simon Max comments. Galliano certainly inspires others! I would perhaps go even further...

Richard Galliano is a most extraordinary accordionist because of his broad musical experiences and openness to ideas. He has the rare ability to blur the distinction between accordion systems and inspire both button accordionists and piano accordionists alike.

His background gives many clues to his development as the complete accordionist. Firstly, Richard Galliano was born in France, but he is of Italian heritage and his father is an excellent piano accordionist and teacher. Therefore, Galliano, from his earliest days had a different perspective to the typical French button accordionist. He played button accordion, yet shows a surprisingly strong interest in the piano instrument, particularly through the Italian classical accordion scene, the North American Jazz scene (Art Van Damme, Ernie Felice and Tommy Gumina) Also, the Brazillian accordionists Sivuca and Dominguinhos all added to the mix. Also, the great bandoneonist and tango innovator Piazzolla was a catalyst for helping Galliano explore again the French button accordion tradition of Musette, but in a new way! Galliano also had extensive experience playing alongside many musicians who played a variety of instruments and musical styles.

Galliano clearly put the musician, musicality and variety far ahead of systems. That is not to say he doesn't have preferences. He can certainly play the piano accordion, button accordions (both with chromatic and quint converter), piano, bandoneon, accordina and trombone etc. However, he clearly enjoys and prefers the chromatic button accordion with quint converter. He displays unparalleled abilities to compose, arrange and perform many styles like musette, tango, jazz and classical. However, his choice of moderate 47 note button accordion and quint free bass (with 120 bass) rather than the big bayans or 160 bass instruments makes him seem (to me at least) less distant and certainly more approachable than the bayan/accordion virtuosi of Eastern Europe etc.

Galliano, through his experience appreciates the stradella bass, and uses it greatly to add rhythm and harmony to his music. The quint converter is an extension of his admiration of stradella bass and possibly a link to the Italian accordion tradition that is, after all, part of his own heritage. Thus, quint is a natural development to him given his background and allows him the tools to summons up the The Art Of Fugue etc. whenever he needs to play that style, without anything like the weight and bulk usually associated with typical classical accordions/bayans. So, really I don't find his instrument or musical choices strange in the slightest. He is simply a great musician, an open minded accordionist and a true innovator that we might never see the likes of again.​

For me, Galliano is No 1. Who else would be totally unfazed by the zany genius of Nigel Kennedy!

​

​

 

[Tom]

Here in the US, there is a difference between "folk" and "traditional," although, as we all know, "a word means what I mean it to mean" paraphrasing Old Himpty Dumpty.

When people say folk or Folk, they are referring to Peter, Paul and Mary and that ilk, but traditional could be blues, cajun, klezmer, polka, even some rock nowadays I suppose.

 

[Walker]

I've never really understood what is meant by "folk music".

When people say folk or Folk, they are referring to Peter, Paul and Mary and that ilk, but traditional could be blues, cajun, klezmer, polka, even some rock nowadays I suppose.

It is not easy to explain, but I think traditional music is different from folk music, but often in very subtle ways. For example, if we consider Scottish Traditional music and Scottish Folk music - are they the same thing? I don't think they are...

To me traditional Scottish music is mainly a form of dance music that emerged from the old fiddle and piping traditions, much of which was actually notated quite early and developed to reach a high artistic level. The types of tunes are quite specific - marches, strathspeys, reels, jigs etc. I refer here mainly to the north east fiddle music tradition and the music of James Scott Skinner (The Strathspey King), William Marshall and Niel Gow (okay, he's more Perthshire). These gentlemen (and many others) were schooled, virtuoso musicians and fantastic composers of sophisticated music. I sometimes play the music of Scott Skinner and other Scottish composers (with the addition of accordion bass/chords etc).

Take the pleasant and musically interesting tunes Professor Blackie or Theodore Napier (below), these tunes to me are excellent for developing the technique of the Scottish style accordion student and invite an elegance in performance. They may not be gigging tunes (I have gigged locally for over 25 years and never played them at a ceilidh) but I think they are lovely tunes on accordion. To me the fiddle tradition of the east coast of Scotland is close to a form of Scottish Classical at times.

Here's the great Paul Anderson playing the tunes:





Then there's folk music, that is perhaps more 'of the people' and connected to aspects of daily life and interactions between folk. Often, though not always, folk music is connected to a singing tradition like occupational songs. Particularly pertinent to the Scottish style might be the Wauking Songs of the Scottish Highlands and Islands, which were an unaccompanied, aural tradition, in Gaelic, by those who wauked the tweed to make it suitable to wear.

I think Scottish folk and traditional music compliment one another and are simply colours in a bright tapestry of living traditions that continues to move and change, even today. There are new tunes written every day! They are not so different from many other forms of music, like classical or popular music, that also flourish here and many other places too.

 

[saundersbp]

Demarcation has always confused me!
Are tunes like Harvest Home, the Kesh, on the ocean, boys of bluehill etc. Folk or traditional?

 

[Walker]

I would consider these to be fantastic traditional tunes of the wonderful Irish variety (my mum is Irish), with the possible exception of Harvest Home, that I will claim for Scotland, on account of it being contained in The Scottish Violinist by J. Scott Skinner.

 

[Ffingers]

Demarcation has always confused me!
Are tunes like Harvest Home, the Kesh, on the ocean, boys of bluehill etc. Folk or traditional?

Agreed, but if some folk had nothing to quibble over their lives would be empty and miserable.
"A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet." The Great Bard.

 

[Walker]

Dear @Ffingers, you are indeed a man of intellect and learning. We can politely agree to disagree on the matter. I find the traditional music styles of Scotland, Ireland and America to be quite distinct from their folk music. I dig deep and seek the origins, methods and human story because I love the music!

To quote G.K. Chesterton "boundaries are the most beautiful things in the world. To love anything is to love its boundaries... for when we come to the end of a thing we have come to the beginning of it."

I am fortunate to have played traditional music most of my life, however I have also played a lot of folk music too. I have a singer/guitarist in my band who sings the folk and country music.

I am a little hesitant to mention this, but I have written a few modern folk songs. Here was one of my earliest attempts. *You might need to select 'Listen In Browser' option to play the song.

The Busker
Music and lyrics by Stewart C. Walker
Performed by Iain Hamilton - guitar/voice

 

[Tom]

The words he did borrow he felt all the same. Wow, Stewart, that's amazing! Great lyrics and rendition too. Thanks!!!!!

 

[Tom]

The words he did bobble he felt all the same. Wow, Stewart, that's amazing! Great lyrics and rendition too. Thanks!!!!!

Ah, thanks....borrow...

 

[Ffingers]

Dear @Ffingers, you are indeed a man of intellect and learning. We can politely agree to disagree on the matter. I find the traditional music styles of Scotland, Ireland and America to be quite distinct from their folk music. I dig deep and seek the origins, methods and human story because I love the music!

To quote G.K. Chesterton "boundaries are the most beautiful things in the world. To love anything is to love its boundaries... for when we come to the end of a thing we have come to the beginning of it."

I am fortunate to have played traditional music most of my life, however I have also played a lot of folk music too. I have a singer/guitarist in my band who sings the folk and country music.

I am a little hesitant to mention this, but I have written a few modern folk songs. Here was one of my earliest attempts. *You might need to select 'Listen In Browser' option to play the song.

The Busker
Music and lyrics by Stewart C. Walker
Performed by Iain Hamilton - guitar/voice

Lovely work indeed Stewart, but as much as I abhor artificial boundaries I also find Chesterton to be somewhat ideologically challenged, indoctrinated with Christian mythology and of significantly closed mind; subject to the boundaries of dogma and Faith.
George Carlin (dec), Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky are closer to my mindset.