Fel Calado on Coop Armoniche

[Geoff de Limousin]

I was pleased to find this video of Portugese accordionist Felisberto Calado . This is the first video Ive come across on Youtube of someone playing a Cooperativa Armoniche. This is very similar to the one I play but I wonder if he has a piccolo voice in the mix.
I just love this fairground organ sound.

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[JerryPH]

Every time I see older accordions being played (even when new), it amazes me how much air they take to generate those lovely tones. Now I loved the sound and the song and how it was played, but man... he is getting a good workout!

 

[Geoff de Limousin]

Yes there is a fair bit of air useage alright . I guess air tightness might not have been so good in the old times and this accordion has to be 80 years old. My own Coopé does not appear to use anything like this amount of air, but then I'm not trying to fill a dance hall .

I have one or two old ones that leak worse and others that are almost airtight... Mr. Calado's instrument is obviously well used!
Glad you like it Jerry.

 

[debra]

Every time I see older accordions being played (even when new), it amazes me how much air they take to generate those lovely tones. Now I loved the sound and the song and how it was played, but man... he is getting a good workout!

I once enjoyed a concert of an orchestra with mostly older players, all with also older instruments. It was fun to see that they would typically open the bellows for 2 or 3 measures, but always close in 1 measure. Massive air loss through between 50 and 100 old leaky pallets, more so than through the bellows which would cause air loss in both directions.
Replacing all the pallets is not a cheap repair. I once had it done (to an Atlantic IV N which is a model that always leaks air already through the bellows fastener clips) so I know it was not cheap. And the repairman used the wrong glue so twice I had a pallet fall out, once during a performance...grrrrrr... (No spare accordion in sight, but luckily someone had some crazy glue for a quick fix.)