The (St) Petersburg Accordion (harmonica)

[Dingo40]

Hi guys.
Recently, Ffingers discovered a swathe of videos featuring Kristina Kool and an associated group (eg Juhan Uppin) of other Estonian musicians, players of an exotic concertina like instrument loosely known as the Põlva Armonica (after the district where it's popular) and as the Ieviņa Armonica (after the Latvian manufacturer)
Although It is similar in appearance to the large German concertina (the Chemnitzer), it differs in that, technically, it's more of a button accordion than a melodeon, being unisonoric/chromatic (?) instead of diatonic.
For me, that makes it a potentially legitimate subject for this forum
On further searching, it looks as if Ffingers may have unearthed a local variant of the Petersburg Accordion ( also known as the Petersburg Armonica), once upon a time (late 1800s to early 1900s) widely disseminated throughout the Baltics including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and the intervening parts of Russia, where it may have originated (hence the Petersburg in the name).
Here, if you are sufficiently curious, you may find a swag of videos featuring this little known, but very likeable, member of the accordion family.

Juhan Uppin, Estonian:

Raul Roosiväli & Kalle Vassila, Finnish:

 

[Javthedog]

All we get here is "Aussie Gold Hunters" or Opal hunters or Outback Truckers!!!!!........I'll look forward to Ffingers new series, "Aussie 'Cordion Hunters"......

 

[Ffingers]

All we get here is "Aussie Gold Hunters" or Opal hunters or Outback Truckers!!!!!........I'll look forward to Ffingers new series, "Aussie 'Cordion Hunters"......

‘t would be as boring as all buggery!

“I am sitting in my dingy little office where a stingy ray of sunlight filters feebly down between the houses tall…”
(“Banjo” Paterson -“Clancy of the Overflow”)

…and the flickering glow of led monitor displays another ‘selection by algorithm’ by which it leads me incessantly down multitudinous ‘rabbit holes’ into veritable warrens of time wasting diversions; a process only broken by a need for more coffee and the inevitable visits to the loo.

Has one become hunter or the one stalked??

 

[Javthedog]

Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are.".......... thanks for this! Been set to music????

 

[Javthedog]

Several times...!

 

[murathan]

Another fact is Finnish people dont make oompah. They do pah pah with the long oom. Russian button guys also use something like this.

 

[xocd]

(Going into the rabbit hole.) The thing with wire strings played by Kalle Vassila on the third video (first post) is an Estonian kannel (https://www.kandlekoda.ee/gusli.htm). I really, really, would not like to have a neighbor who plays it.

 

[tcabot]

A soviet job interview:
- Place of birth?
- Petrograd.
- Where did you complete your apprenticeship?
- Petrograd.
- Current place of residence?
- Leningrad.
- Where would you like to work?
-Sigh. Petrograd.

Between 1914 and 1924 it was "Petrograd" and these were called "Petrogradka" or "Minorka" as they have some extra minor chords. Must have been some of the highest end harmonikas one could buy.

Interesting fact: they have bass cassotto, and we're talking late 19th century here.

The tuning is standard "German" 3-row quint, albeit they came in 2-row and 4-row versions too. Russian 3-row boxes had only one gleischtone in the highest-pitched row (as opposed to 3-row steirische that has got 2 gleischtones, one in 2nd, one in 3rd row).

Here's a pic of the bass end.