Re: button accordion

[Owen Davidson <owend...>]

There's an identity between the G sound in the north and the H in the south,
both represented by the Cyrillic letter <geh>.  So a generic accordion would
be "garmon" in Russia and "harmon" in Ukraine (no doubt I'm oversimplifying
horribly and will be called on it, which I welcome).  "Garmonika," so I
understand, refers to a specific type of accordion of a more "primitive"
construction than the sophisticated bayan or piano accordions.  Whether
that's the instrument referred to in the dance, I can't say.  "Harmon" is
also the Yiddish word for accordion, by the way.

There's a cut featuring the two-row garmonika on the "Planet Squeezebox"
compilation (Ellipsis Arts CD3470).  The notes refer to its system as
chromatic in one place, and as "semi-chromatic," whatever that means, in
another.  Maybe to differentiate it from the deservedly rare
whole-tone-scale accordion...  

Owen

At 05:02 PM 2/6/98 -0500, Haim Kaufman wrote:
>It would appear that this type of accordian also was used in Israel for
>Jewish folk music.  I base this on the fact that there is a popular
>Israeli folk dance created in 1944 whose name is "Harmonica" which is
>translated as accordian. Does anyone know when the song was writen
>(it is attributed to Elkany in one source). Also, is the "G" pronounced
>like an "H" (Garmonika = Harmonika?)?
_________________________________________________________________________
        Owen Davidson, Amherst, Mass.
        The Wholesale Klezmer Band

        The Angel that presided o'er my birth
        Said Little creature formd of Joy and Mirth,
        Go love without the help of any King on Earth. 

                                Wm. Blake