Concertina weekend

David Donnison

What makes traditional or ‘folk’ music special? Usually it consists of Scottish and Irish tunes, mixed with some from England and America or from Gypsy origins. Some of these tunes have been around for hundreds of years, others are newly written but grew from the same roots. Folk music is fairly simple, but none the less beautiful for that. Its songs convey passion and pain, or can be bawdy or radical, mocking the powerful and the pompous. Think of Robert Burns if you have any doubt.

Traditional musicians often sit or stand in a circle – around a kitchen table perhaps, or in a pub – conversing musically with each other. Listeners sit in the circle or just beyond it. New recruits to the band are welcomed and offered help if they need it. Nobody is excluded or humiliated. The music is a conversation between the players and with their audience, the tunes often interspersed with chat and banter.

That was the experience we had under the leadership of Samantha Payn at the sixth of her annual concertina weekends at Kilmory Lodge. Year by year, these gatherings attract a larger number of musicians. There were twenty this time, from a wider spread of countries (Holland, America, Germany and all parts of Britain.) They offered a greater variety of instruments than ever before, but the concertina remained our main focus.

Samantha welcomed us with a splendid meal on Friday evening, provided by Assja Baumgärtner and Josephine Broekhuizen, who catered magnificently throughout the whole weekend. As a tutor, Samantha has the great advantage of being an expert musician who has never trained as a teacher. Before we settled into a long session of playing around the kitchen table, she asked us to say what we wanted to do and to learn, and what we could offer to the group. The following morning she produced proposals for sessions that would best use our talents and fulfil our hopes. The group provided its own informal but hard-working opportunities for learning, interspersed with great food, good beer from the barrel, occasional walks to the sunlit sea and lots of cheerful talk. On Sunday we had two long sessions in the pubs of Whiting Bay and Brodick where local musicians and singers welcomed us – Samantha generously refraining from drink so that she could drive the minibus.

What a wonderful weekend! We hope to return next year early in October. If you want to know more and perhaps join us, see Samantha’s website.