People usually like the look of the instrument and it is beautiful indeed , with its rows of keys , its hexagonal shape and its 6 or 7 folds bellows . Mine is even decorated with mermaids and anchors . Its small size immediately attracts !
As far as I am concerned , it was the sound which seduced my ear . Its unique
« voice »can easily be identified , even among other instruments . In the 80s , I
took part in an English/French singing week in Normandy .The guests included
a group of Morris dancers from Yorkshire .One of its members played the concertina . I was really moved by the sound of the instrument and started to dream I could play it one day . Some time later , at Hobgoblin’s , I found tutor books for the Anglo and the English . Since I played the diatonic accordion , my
choice went to the Anglo but I could have chosen the English as well because I truly admired Alistair Anderson’s playing . At the festival of Saint Chartier , a bouzoukist friend helped my decision and I got my first squeeze box , made by Saltarelle . In 1997 , Rosalie and Collin Dipper , marvellous instrument makers from Wiltshire , delivered me the concertina which I still play today with great happiness !
Then there were unforgettable encounters with fantastic concertinists , Caitlin Nic Gabhann particularly , who were my teachers or whom I saw on stage .