Compiled and edited by Ken Coles
November 2002
From comments by concertina.net members
Images courtesy of Craig Wagner
A number of small concertina builders are receiving new attention around the world. Some of these are new to concertina building, bringing experience from other crafts. Others, like Pierre Hooft of Australia, have evidently been at it for some time now. Mark Davies recently bought a Hooft and wrote in September of 2002:
I recently purchased via Concertina.net a 30 key C/G anglo made by Pierre Hooft in Australia. I took delivery of the instrument on the day I was to fly to Ireland to attend the Mrs Crotty Concertina Festival so decided to take it with me so that other concertina afficianardos could have a look at it, play it and give their opinon. Everybody who had a look and played the instrument was favourably impressed ... and we even took the opportunity to take the ends off. The instrument is a copy, as far as I can gather, of a thirty key metal ended Jeffries. In my opinion the overall standard of workmanship is far superior to Jeffries, but as one would expect, the tone is not as bright and sharp. However the action is very smooth and responsive and will get better as its "played in". I should make it clear, that I am perhaps the only concertina player in the world who prefers other makes to Jeffries. I have had and passed on numerous Jeffries anglos over the years and now play Wheatstones, Crabbs and Dippers! (surely this will get a response?) The fretwork is of very fine nickel silver,the action is rivetted and the reeds laid out in the Jeffries configuration. The bellows, in rich brown kangeroo skin (Jurgen Suttner and Darius Bartlett told me it was roo skin), are set off with watermarked papers. The buttons are dark tan ivoroid (imitation ivory). The concertina came in a fine hand made case with nickel silver fittings. Pierre Hooft is a very fine craftsman. The price of the instrument was exceptionally reasonable. I understand he is a retired silversmith and that he has made very few instruments over a large number of years. Could I suggest, following on from recent messages that you consider trading in your Jeffries for a Hooft!
The playing, building, and repairing of concertinas has a long tradition in Australia, but this tradition is less known to most of the world than that of Britain or North America. Chris Ghent notes that, "Australia has had other makers and tinkerers, the best known is Stanley from Bathurst who made his concertinas in the popular era. Most were made with Lachenal parts but his top end instruments were more home grown. He used clock springs as a source of reed steel. The ends were fretted to spell his name. Others (Richard Evans, for one) know far more about this than me, in fact what I have said is pretty much all I know..!"
Mark's posting brought several responses. From Richard Evans, himself a noted maker of concertinas in Australia, thoughts on the state of the art in general:
Dear Mark,
Glad to hear that you thought highly of the Pierre Hooft concertina. Intermittently over the years I have had contact with Pierre. I can vouch for the fact that he is a wonderful craftsman and one of the old school! He has also made some very nice "other" instruments. The Hardanger fiddle for example. One of his instruments features in the Australian book "Made and Played in Australia" by Michael Atherton.
Though living in the not so important hemisphere, it is suprising how we have contributed to the well being of the world. Take note of Vegemite, the Hills Hoist and the Victa lawnmower. O.K. so you haven't heard of any of them, well that's the way it goes. Perhaps our concertinas will make it one day. Has anyone ever heard of Stanley concertinas? They were the "cockies socks" of instruments in the 1890's! (please consult the Australian slang dictionary). Using Lachenal parts Stanley managed to produce superior 20 key Anglos that still hold pride of place in the western farming districts. Not that they are played these days, but they are looked after like gold bars! Having restored some of these instruments over the years I can vouch for the fact that they were superior to Lachenals due to the fact that Stanley made the reeds himself. (from clock springs), don't knock it, it works! (The performance of a concertina depends on the reed maker.)
The problem here is of course the same problem that all good instrument makers have the world over, there are not enough hours in the day. As far as I can see all the attempts to make concertinas on the production line have produced adequate but not excellent instruments.
I can see these garden variety instruments are necessary as the number of concertinas needs to come up to demands, after all we need more players, and afterwards when the disease really strikes home, we need the hand crafted instruments to satisfy the expert.
I just hope that the skill doesn't die out. (I have an apprentice!)
And Mark McDonnell notes:
I would just like to second Mark Davies' and Richard Evans' comments about Pierre's Concertinas. I have known Pierre for four years since moving to Australia. I have played several of his instruments and they all have a wonderful touch and a beautiful sound. Pierre is truely a craftsman from the old school. Unlike anyone else I have ever met, he seems to be one with metal and thus makes beautifully sounding reeds. This must be due to the many years he toiled as a silversmith in Europe. In addition to his instrument making, he is also a fine player and a gentleman. Because Pierre does everything by hand, he is not going to be making lots of instruments, but you can be sure that the ones he does produce will be cherished.
Want to see more of these instruments? Craig Wagner has presented a comprehensive summary (reproduced in slightly edited form below) of the work and instruments of Pierre Hooft, as well as the images on this page.
Pierre Hooft, silversmith turned concertina maker, is likely one of the concertina world's best kept secrets. Working unassumingly in Australia, at a craftsman's pace, he has created a small number of very high quality instruments. Born in Amsterdam in The Netherlands in on the 18th of February 1923, his grandfather, father and uncles were all metalworkers of some description so silversmithing seemed to be in his bones. He spent time in Stockholm, Sweden after WW2 where he trained and worked as a silversmith for Baron Eric Fleming.
In 1963 he, his wife and six children migrated to Adelaide, Australia, because of the better opportunities Australia could provide to such a large family. Here he worked both for himself and did commissions for such noted designers as Voitre Marek, sculpting religious icons and John Hale, jewelry designer. Pierre has work exhibited in the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Among his most noted pieces of silverwork is a silver trophy for the London/Sydney Air Race in the late 60s or early 70s. Pierre was the maker of the piece, which was designed by Don Allnut from Adelaide.
Pierre became interested in making musical instruments when he bought an old concertina (Lachenal) to play Irish Music. It was a 20 button concertina, but he discovered that he needed a 3 row concertina, so he set about making one himself because he couldn't find one to buy.
The early eighties saw Pierre turn his talents to musical instrument making - he crafts superb violins (a good subject for a different story) and concertinas using both traditional materials and native Australian timbers. As a founding member of the Musical Instrument Makers of South Australia (MIMOSA), Pierre exhibits and plays his instruments at folk fairs and music clubs.
Pierre Hooft built HIS first concertina in about 1982. Pierre creates his concertinas by copying a vintage Jeffries concertina loaned to him by a friend, Dave Clark. He has maintained exquisite attention to detail in duplicating the sound and structure of the classic Jeffries. His concertinas use classic steel reeds with brass shoes copied meticulously after Jeffries. While in Australia, Pierre met Noel Hill who played and enjoyed one of his concertinas.
From his background as a silversmith, his craftsmanship is breathtaking. Pierre hand makes every component of each instrument, excluding violin strings of course, and the small steel screws that hold the reeds in place for his concertinas. Each concertina is handcrafted and, working off-and-on, takes about 12 months to complete, but he is working to try to reduce that to about 6 months - still every inch a custom instrument. Pierre has made a total of 6 concertinas as of 2002. The instruments he has made include:
1) A 30 button Jeffries tuned in C/G. Pierre retains this concertina for his own playing.
2) A black leather seven fold bellows with wood ends, 30 button Jeffries layout, tuned in Bb/F. Pierre retains this concertina for his own playing.
3) Brown leather seven fold bellows with nickel-plated hand-cut ends. It is made of Maccassar ebony and has 31 ivoroid buttons. Tuned in C/G. [The image show the right end of this concertina.]
4) A 30 button Jeffries tuned in C/G, which he sold to Chris Vonderborch of Adelaide, South Australia
5) A black leather seven fold bellows with nickel-plated hand-cut ends. The 30 buttons are nickel silver tipped. Tuned in C/G. The steel reeds and brass shoes are placed in a traditional Jeffries button layout. It has a unique pair of hand-crafted clover leaf top strap screws, ebony trim and superb metalwork (what else would one expect from a silversmith?). This was sold in 2002 to Craig Wagner of Ann Arbor, Michigan. [This instrument is shown at the top of this page, along with three images of the action and reeds inside.]
6) A green leather seven fold bellows with native Australian Fiddleback Tasmanian Blackwood ends. The 30 buttons are hand turned in ivoroid. Tuned in C/G. Red bellows papers. The steel reeds and brass shoes are hand-crafted by the maker. Jeffries button layout. The size of the concertina is somewhat smaller than standard Jeffries and measures 5 7/8" across. [This concertina is shown in the adjacent image.]
Pierre's attention to detail extends even to the custom concertina cases that he creates. They are made from wood with a decorative bamboo trim, blocked on one end, fully padded with metal corner guards to protect the case over the long haul.
Pierre has also influenced and collaborated with other concertina builders including Richard Evans of Kookaburra Concertinas (a great concertina builder in his own right!) in Australia. Richard indicates.
"...I am glad to sing the praises of Pierre, he is a craftsman of considerable talent. Here in Australia we are willing to give credit where credit is due and I can say that Pierre is one of the old school, anyone who can draw the wire for the mechanism through a swage block; (consult dictionary), is serious enough to be counted among the national treasures...".
Pierre today lives in Pooraka, South Australia. Pierre can be reached directly at (08) 8260 4563 (GMT +9:30) or through his grandson, Luke Hooft, at luke_h@ihug.com.au. Among other things, Pierre is using funds from the sale of his concertinas to finance a trip to Ireland.
Pierre quotes the words of George Bernard Shaw, "A good concertina lasts forever"! His fine attention to detail and craftsmanship yield great concertinas, so the exquisite few that he has built should last even a little longer than forever!
Craig Wagner closes by noting that he is a very happy user of a Hooft concertina and adds, "At $2500, I'm not sure you can find a better value."
Thanks to all these people for sharing comments, and Craig for the pictures. Thanks to Pierre Hooft and all the other patient (and probably underpaid) makers who feed our addiction!