The Anglo Concertina Music of John Watcham

By Gary Coover

JOHN WATCHAM is one of the most influential players of the Anglo concertina - the lead musician for Chingford Morris, Albion Morris, Brighton Morris and Taylor's traditional English Morris dance teams. He has also performed with folkrock pioneer Ashley Hutchings and played on the Rattlebone & Ploughjack and Son of Morris On recordings, and he is also featured on the Anglo International CD.

Specializing in Cotswold English Morris dance music, his playing has a solid understanding of the unique timing of Morris dances, and often incorporates an active bass line and inventive chordal accompaniments.Here are 50 tunes as played by John, carefully transcribed to be played on a 30-button Anglo concertina.

All tunes feature the same easy-to-use button numbering and tablature system found in the Rollston Press concertina books, along with Button Maps to show exactly which buttons are needed for every tune. QR codes are included with many of the tunes to link to videos of John and others playing concertina, often accompanying English Morris dancers.

THE TUNES: Ashen Faggot Wassail, Balance the Straw, Belle Isles March, Birds-a-Building, Black Joker, Blue Eyed Stranger, Bonny Green Garters (Bampton), Bonny Green Garters (Headington), Constant Billy, Country Gardens, Cuckoo's Nest, Cuckoo In The Nest, Epping Forest, Fieldtown Processional, Gallant Hussar, Glorishears, Golden Vanity, Grand Union Jig, Henry Harvey, Hey Diddle Dis, Jockie to the Fair, Ladies of Pleasure, Laudnum Bunches, Lumps of Plum Pudding, Maid of the Mill, Monck's March, Much Wenlock Dance, Mundesse, Old Trunkles, Old Woman Tossed Up, Over the Hills and Far Away, Over the Water to Charlie, Persian Dance (Galopede), Princess Royal (Bampton), Princess Royal (Longborough), Rigs of Marlow, Ring O'Bells, Rodney, Saturday Night, Shepherd's Hey, Sherborne Jig, Shooting, Smash the Windows, Southover, Swaggering Boney, Upton-on-Severn Stick Dance, Webley Twizzle, Wheatley On, Winster Processional, Young Collins.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1953208991
• ISBN13: 9781953208996
• Release Date: July 2020
• Publisher: Rollston Press
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 8.5" x 11.0"