Hohner Lucia IV P, Lu-chee-a, Lu-see-a?

[macdok]

I recently bought a Hohner Lucia IV P, and I’m wondering about its origin. I’m guessing it was for the Italian market? I understand the IV (LMMH) but what is the P for? Were there any other Lucia IV models? It’s going to the repair shop as it has some sticky register keys, so I haven’t been able to test the MM tuning, but I’m anticipating tremolo in the 15 cent range. Sound reasonable? (apart from buying an accordion that doesn’t work)

 

[Tom]

I recently bought a Hohner Lucia IV P, and I’m wondering about its origin. I’m guessing it was for the Italian market? I understand the IV (LMMH) but what is the P for? Were there any other Lucia IV models? It’s going to the repair shop as it has some sticky register keys, so I haven’t been able to test the MM tuning, but I’m anticipating tremolo in the 15 cent range. Sound reasonable? (apart from buying an accordion that doesn’t work)

This came up Thursday when Gary was playing “Santa Lucia.” I could be wrong but I imagine the Hohner accordion was named after the Italian name “Lucia”. (There is a Saint Lucia in the Christian tradition.).

The song Santa Lucia refers to an area of Naples which I presume was named after the saint. In Italian her name is pronounced “Lu Chee A.” (I don’t know about in the original Napolitano language.).

Input or correction from our resident Italian ragazzi is welcome!

I’m sorry I don’t know anything about the history of the Hohner Lucia but I’m hope your repairs go well, you love and play the heck out of it and it brings you musical peace and joy.

 

[Pipemajor]

Doesn't lucia mean light?
perhaps it's a lightweight accordion? .
There's also the Caribbean island

 

[Tom]

Doesn't lucia mean light?
perhaps it's a lightweight accordion? .
There's also the Caribbean island

“Luce” is the one you see by.
“Leggero/a” is the not so heavy one.

At least that’s (my feeling) in Italian, I don’t know about other languages Hohner was thinking about.

 

[Ventura]

well it is one of the metal body Hohner's i think,
so sure lighter-weight, maybe that was why they named them lucia

or for Gola's daughter Lucia who also liked red dresses
(most Lucia accordions are red after all)
"and oohh dat girl looked nice" and so did her cousins
Gloria and Doris

or the guy who kept scraping his knuckles trying to assemble those
damn metalbau's kept swearing "Santa Lucia" every time he drew blood..
sort of like the Tinker's Damn Polka .. consider those Tinkers going around in
their prarie schooners town to town making Tin Buckets and watering cans
and such for folks everywhere.. nipped their hands on the sharp tin edges
so often they said "damn" almost constantly when snipping to where
a Tinker's Damn just wasn't worth much compared to a regular, normal "Damn"

or Morino's Mistress, Madame Lucia

all ancient accordion facts and serial numbers are shrouded in the mists of time,
the only thing we know for certain is if all the reeds claimed to be hand made
really were they would still need another 100 years of production to
have made them in the first place

 

[Dingo40]

I’m guessing it was for the Italian market?

That would be rather like carrying coals to Newcastle?*
*https://www.google.com.au/search?q=...TIuMC4yNC4xMKAH_q4B&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp

 

[Ric46]

Input or correction from our resident Italian ragazzi is welcome!

Santa Lucia is a Neapolitan song initially written in Neapolitan. Later another text was written in Italian (which is the version that later became famous). The title comes from the name of a seaside neighborhood in Naples. The saint, on the other hand , is from Syracuse (Sicily) and is greatly venerated. She is protector of the eyes and her remains are in Venice.

 

[Dingo40]

I see some of our members have posted their own renditions of the tune on the web!

 

[debra]

I recently bought a Hohner Lucia IV P, and I’m wondering about its origin. I’m guessing it was for the Italian market? I understand the IV (LMMH) but what is the P for? Were there any other Lucia IV models? It’s going to the repair shop as it has some sticky register keys, so I haven’t been able to test the MM tuning, but I’m anticipating tremolo in the 15 cent range. Sound reasonable? (apart from buying an accordion that doesn’t work)

The Hohner Lucia IV P (made between 1053 and 1073) is made by Hohner, in "Metalbauweise", like the Atlantic and some other models. This results in a rather harsh tone. The common model list that "everyone" has lists just the Lucia IV (without further details) and the Lucia IV P. I'm assuming the P is from about the later 10 years and the one without P from the earlier 10 years but I don't know that for sure. Such letters (like D, M, N, P, S, T...) are typically used by Hohner to indicate different series (with minor design differences) and periods.
I don't think Hohner ever made a model specifically for the Italian market (but they did have models for the Slavik regions, like the Avsenik version of other models). Who knows how they came up with the different model names, except for the Gola and Morino which were named after their main designers.

 

[dak]

Input or correction from our resident Italian ragazzi is welcome!

Wouldn't normal Italian pronunciation rules render this "Loo-cha"? Of course in "German Italian" It would be "Loot-seeya".

 

[Dingo40]

Wouldn't normal Italian pronunciation rules render this "Loo-cha"?

From the horse's mouth

And:

 

[dak]

From the horse's mouth

That's actually what I thought as well. The question still remains whether this isn't an exception from normal pronunciation rules. I'll admit that this "pronunciation rules" thing may be a foreign concept to a language that has cough, plough, rough, tough, bough, though, trough, through...

 

[Dingo40]

to a language that has cough, plough, rough, tough, bough, though...

Yes, and how lovely is that!?A great example of " Britishness "!
Actually, I do agree with you that, according to the rules , it should be as you have said.
I'm as perplexed as you.

 

[Tom]

From the horse's mouth

And:

I think her pronunciation is more American Italian. I thought I would watch it thoroughly a few times to make sure. Thanks Dingo!!

 

[Ffingers]

From my 4 years in Syracusa, Sicily - Loocheea

 

[Glug]

From https://www.accordionists.info/threads/hohner-accordion-list.173/



So Lucia IV P was 1953 and Lucia IV was 1961

 

[debra]

From https://www.accordionists.info/threads/hohner-accordion-list.173/



So Lucia IV P was 1953 and Lucia IV was 1961

And then something was in 1973 but nothing between 1961 and 1972? Something isn't right in that table.

 

[Ric46]

From the horse's mouth

And:

the first video is okay. In the second, the pronunciation of St. Lucia is correct but the rest is a bit “unsure”

 

[Ric46]

That's actually what I thought as well. The question still remains whether this isn't an exception from normal pronunciation rules. I'll admit that this "pronunciation rules" thing may be a foreign concept to a language that has cough, plough, rough, tough, bough, though, trough, through...

In talking about exception to which rule of pronunciation, in particular, are you referring to?

 

[Ric46]

I think her pronunciation is more American Italian. I thought I would watch it thoroughly a few times to make sure. Thanks Dingo!!

On the second video you are right. American Italian. The first one is definitely Italian. I would be undecided to tell you, just hearing these words, whether he is from the north or the south but I would say 100% Italian