The recordings on this webpage are exclusively of Duet Concertina Players. Alan Day, the compiler of the 'English International' and 'Anglo International' CD sets had intended to follow up with a 'Duet International' CD set to cover all three main concertina systems,but unfortunately the project did not reach the release stage. To meet the demand for Duet Concertina recordings, Alan has set up a thread on concertina.net where Duet Concertina players and people with recordings of Duet Concertina can post links to recordings. This thread will always welcome new recordings or links to any duet recordings you discover.

Recordings have been submitted in different forms, so this listing attempts to make each track available with a single click. In some cases you will be taken to another website, and this is indicated by a '(On Name-of-Website)' in the link. Those recordings without this marking in the link are hosted on this website and posted by either Alan Day or myself (Wes Williams) or were posted in the concertina.net thread in a form that did not allow direct replay.

Vintage Recordings dating approx 1900 - 1970

Most of the vintage recordings below were released on 78rpm, so I have indicated the approximate dates of recording for each player. Electric recording methods were not introduced until 1925, so most tracks below will be low fidelity.

Alexander Prince (Maccann Duet)
This website has a page with large number of Alexander Prince recordings (dating from 1903 to 1927) which is continually expanding. You can view this page by clicking on 'Alexander Prince' on the black menu bar at the left.

W. Bramwell Thornett (Triumph Duet)
Recording dating from 1940.
Glory To God In The Highest

Archie Burgess (Triumph Duet)
Recordings dating from 1936 and 1940.
A Salvation Medley
Sweet And Low

Maurice Harvey (Maccann Duet)
Recordings made by Maurice's father Jim Harvey dating from circa. 1970 from a tape cassette compilation. Note that 'Track 15' may possibly be by another Duet player.
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
Track 6
Track 7
Track 8
Track 9
Track 10
Track 11
Track 12
Track 13
Track 15

Percy Honri (Maccann Duet)
Recordings dating from 1904 to 1914.
The Swanee River Schottische
Popular Melodies
Entry Of The Gladiators
Song and Story
Barcarolle, from Tales of Hoffman
Rubenstein's Melody in F

John Hill Maccann (Maccann Duet)
Recordings dating from 1900.
The Coral Pearl Gavotte
'A Frangesa March
Recording dating from 1901.
'A Frangesa March (On Library Of Congress Juke Box)

Ernest Rutterford (Maccann Duet)
Recordings dating from 1918 to 1925.
Colonel Bogey
The Great Little Army
K-K-K Katy
Just A Baby's Prayer at Twilight
Four Little Blackberries
Missouri Waltz
Intermezzo, Cavalleria Rusticana
Waltz from Faust
El Capitan
On The Quarterdeck
Viscount Nelson
Sons Of The Brave
The Rickety Rackety Walk
The Night Patrol
Rustic Rube
Fragrance
Bercuse De Jocelyn
Le Cygne

Ernest Rutterford (Maccann Duet) with Lloyd Shakespeare (cornet)
Recordings dating from 1921.
Until
Valé

Herbert Green (Maccann Duet)
Some recordings made in 1960 of Bert Greene's playing have been posted by Peter Green on YouTube.

Contemporary Recordings

Crane Duet

John Thornton
(Little John). John has a demo of his playing on Holden No.10 Crane available on YouTube. He notes that each of his instruments has been modified (or in the case of the Holden designed) to extend the range downward. You might be able to hear a low B and a low A on the left hand towards the end of the B music in Belle qui. You can hear the low B on the left used several times in Abbots Bromley, and also the low B on the right half way through the B music.
Old Mrs. Wilson (51 button Dipper Crane made in 1985)
Belle, qui tiens ma vie(48 button Crabb Crane made in 1934)
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance(44 button Crane No.4 made by Alex Holden in 2019)

Marien Lina
Marien has a collection of videos on youtube and has chosen the following recordings.
Vallende Blaadjes(on soundcloud) (Crabb octagonal Crane 71 key duet built by Henry Thomas Crabb during December 1924)
Summertime In Spring(on soundcloud) (Lachenal New Model Crane 55 key with raised ebony ends. Made 1900-1904)

Mike Acott
Two Suffolk traditional songs from Mike Acott, recorded 25th January 2020, at Parham, Woodbridge, Suffolk by Adrian Revill.
Muckle Horses
Smokey Joe

Ruediger Asche
Ruediger (RAc) here plays a 45-button Crane that was made by Alex Holden and finished in 2019 with serial number 3. Details of the instrument are here.
Smokey Mokes (on soundcloud)
This recording was made with his 55 button Wheatstone Crane, serial number 27096.
Rosebud March (Scott Joplin) (on soundcloud)

Paul McCann
Paul plays a 53-key Crane that was made by John Connor in 1996. He has more recordings available on his YouTube channel.
Hector The Hero
Victoria Parade
Irish Set recorded at Kilve Weekend October 2008

Geoff Lakeman
Geoff plays a 58-button Wheatstone Aeola Crane duet, made in 1926, with eight-fold bellows and metal reeds. He has more recordings available on his YouTube channel and his latest CD - "After All These Years" - is available from his website.
Nobody Knows
Jim Jones
Geoff Lakeman and Rob Murch (banjo)
A Ragtime Tune
Geoff Lakeman and Gill Redmond (cello) (from Geoff's CD)
The Road Together

Polly Garland
Polly Garland (1945-2020) was a fine player of the Crane duet system concertina. These tracks, recorded by Malcolm Clapp in 1984 (all "single take" onto a mini Sanyo cassette recorder in Polly's lounge room) are played on a 48 button ebony ended New Model Lachenal, unusual in that it had a chromed metal plate mounted centrally over each keyboard, presumably to counter finger wear. The ebony beneath was undamaged, and the manner of fitting looked professional and original.
The Liberty Bell (Sousa)
Gavotte in Gm (Bach)
Gentle Maiden/The Malthouse/Rocky Road to Dublin
Yesterday/From a Window (Lennon/McCartney arr. Garland)
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (Friend/Franklin)
British Flag Quick March (Ezra Read)
Un-Noticed Waltz
Bonnie Scots Schottische (Fabian Rose)
Unse Alte Kat/Hamburger Polka
Cruising Down the River ( Beadell/Tollerton)

Kurt Braun
Kurt plays a Crabb 59 button Crane concertina number 10555 which was built in 1950.
Beautiful Life
Lilly Of The Valley
Mairzy Doats
My Country
Nearer My God To Thee
No One Like You
O Sacred Head
The Downward Road

Jean Megly
Jean Megly was a major force in Crane Duet playing for many years, and was a tutor at many workshops. Efforts had been made to contact him over the last couple of years, but we were saddened to hear from his children Lisa, Leila and Evan that Jean had passed away on 4th December 2023, see here. We hope to add more recordings of Jean in the future.

This set of recordings comes from a 'Son Of Readers' tape provided by Concertina and Squeezebox magazine, which was published between 1983 and 1985. This tape features solos from Jean, and with friends on some tracks.
Mississippi Blues originally recorded by Alan Lomax from guitarist Willie Brown in 1942.
Invention #1/Unknown Jazzy Tune from Bach and Miles Davis.
Huitklaffen’s Bridal March/Reinlander traditional tunes from Sweden and Norway.
Solo: Two-Tune Medley, then band
Charlestonne/La port en Arnésé first tune by Jean, second tune traditional Cajun.
Bouree a Frank from F. Grimaud.

Hayden Duet

Daniel Hersh
Posted by Daniel. For information see here.
Lios Na Banriona with notes (On Google Drive)

Steven Arntson
Posted by Steven. For information see here.
Without Haste, Without Rest (On Soundcloud)

Jeff Lefferts
Posted by Jeff (Boney). For information see here.
At A Georgia Camp Meeting (On concertina.jeffleff)
Under The Double Eagle (On concertina.jeffleff)
Partita No. 1 for Solo Violin - Tempo di Borea (On concertina.jeffleff)
Tobasco - Rag Time Waltz (On concertina.jeffleff)

Didie Sendra
Posted by Didie (soloduetconcertina). Didie plays a Morse Beaumont 52 key Hayden Duet. See the original video versions (and more videos) from Didie on YouTube
Chiquilin de Bachin composed by Astor Piazzola
Roslin Castle Scottish traditional
Tivoli composed by Lydie Auvray

David Barnert
David says: "In all of the SoundCloud files and all but two of the youtube videos I am playing a Wheatstone 46-key Hayden Duet concertina built by Steve Dickinson in the 1980s (SN 60082). In the "Xotis Romanes" video I am playing a Bastari 46-key Hayden Duet concertina from the 1970s and in the "Nutting Girl" video I am playing the "Duettina" app (now "Hayden Duet System Concertina" app) on an iPhone."
David has videos on youtube and sound files on soundcloud and has chosen to feature these recordings:
Sous le Ciel de Paris (Under Paris Skies) (on soundcloud)
The Green Ship (on soundcloud)
Mid-Winter Waltz (on youtube)

George Gonzalez
George plays a Beaumont model concertina by R. Morse & Co, a 52-button Hayden system that was manufactured around February 2019. He has a Youtube channel - George plays music - where you can find many recordings, including the two featured below.
Maple Leaf Rag
Summertime

Jeffries Duet

'Big Nick' Robertshaw
Posted by Jim Besser. For information see here.
Beer That Tastes Like Beer (On RememberBigNick)
Hell Ship (On RememberBigNick)
Procrastination Waltz (On RememberBigNick)
The Tailor's Britches (On RememberBigNick)
Hot Meat (On RememberBigNick)
Picking Up The Meadows (On RememberBigNick)
Five Foot Flirt (On RememberBigNick)
Posted by Richard Mellish.For information see here.
The Dying Stockman
Marrowbones
Morris With Words

Julie and Gavin Atkin
Julie sings, Gavin plays a 52-button Jeffries duet in C. For more see their website
Autumn Leaves
Teddy Bear's Picnic

Gary Coover
Gary has a Jeffries Duet instructional video collection on youtube and has suggested the following recordings.He plays 50-button Jeffries Duet made by C. Jeffries about 1900-1910 which he bought in late 1978 or early 1979.
American Patrol (on youtube)
Wild Irish Rose (on youtube)
Miss Smith's Morris (on youtube)

Michael Hebbert
Michael's duet playing became widely known after he released an LP - The Rampin' Cat - in 1977. He submitted 7 tracks for the 'Duet International' CD set that he had recorded on 20 November 2009 and has kindly given permission for them to be included here. Many more of his recordings may be found at his The World in a Box page on Soundcloud. Michael plays a 54-button duet concertina made by Charles Jeffries in the 1890s.
Ar Éirinn (Slow Air)
Israeli Dance
Alfavrina y el Mar (Argentina)
Oakpit Waltz (Maine)
Suëno d'Amor (Argentina)
Anos Dourados (Jobin/Buorque)
Diarmuid's March (Cooney)

Maccann Duet

Lesley Henniker (58 and 81 Key)
Arrangements by David Cornell (many available here).
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (On Soundcloud)
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (On Soundcloud)
White Christmas (On Soundcloud)
Spanish Ladies (On Soundcloud)
Swansea Town (On Soundcloud)
Rule Britannia (On Soundcloud)
The Leaving Of Liverpool (On Soundcloud)
New York Girls (On Soundcloud)
Away For The Rio Grande (On Soundcloud)
Sailors Hornpipe (On Soundcloud)
Sunrise, Sunset (On Soundcloud)
Lemonville Jig (On Soundcloud)
Fanny Power II/ Star Of The County Down (On Soundcloud)
The Keel Row (On Soundcloud)
Moon River (On Soundcloud)
After The Ball (On Soundcloud)
Lord Of The Dance (On Soundcloud)
A Nice Little Waltz (On Soundcloud)
Take Me Out To The Ball Game (On Soundcloud)
Side By Side (On Soundcloud)
Bye Bye Blackbird (On Soundcloud)
Besame (On Soundcloud)
I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts (On Soundcloud)
The White Cliffs Of Dover (On Soundcloud)
Summertime (On Soundcloud)
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (On Soundcloud)
Tea for Two (On Soundcloud)
Cruising Down The River (On Soundcloud)
Georgia On My Mind (On Soundcloud)
In The Good Old Summertime (On Soundcloud)
Misty
Wonderful World
Love's Old Sweet Song
The Teddy Bear's Picnic

Iris Bishop
Comments below are from Iris herself.
Two Favourite Tunes from the ECMW Concert 2003.
'Round Midnight By Thelonius Monk (1944). Arranged - Iris Bishop
I can't imagine a time when this composition did not exist. Its intriguing melody and unpredictable chord sequence is totally absorbing - especially when played ''round midnight', naturally..
Stardust - Hoagy Carmichael (1929). Arranged - Iris Bishop
I get so engrossed when playing this wonderful melody, which means that it never comes out the same way twice! It also provides an excellent opportunity for playing in 'octaves'...
Charmaine / Tom Cat Blues Arranged - Iris Bishop. Charmaine by Emo Rapee (1926), Tom Cat Blues by Jelly Roll Morton (1924).
I love the contrast between the slow subtlety of 'Charmaine' and the percussive syncopation of 'Tom Cat Blues', both a joy to play on the duet concertina. 'Charmaine' also reminds me of the 'sound' of the first duet players that I heard and their love of music generally and their ''tinas' in particular...
Iris Bishop & Martyn Wyndham-Read (vocal)
The Constant Lovers - traditional (Sussex). Arranged Martyn Wyndham-Read & Iris Bishop
The duet concertina can be so subtle and versatile, and therefore ideally suited to song accompaniment. Also, as an accompanist, it means that I always get the 'best seat in the house', at every concert...
Iris Bishop & Gary Holder (double bass)
Solace by Scott Joplin (1909). Arranged - Iris Bishop & Gary Holder
I discovered these last two parts of Scott Joplin's 'Solace' as part of the soundtrack for the 1970's film, 'The Sting'. I just love its laid-back 'serenade' rhythm, especially when playing alongside and sharing syncopation with Gary's double bass...
Nimrod
by Sir Edward Elgar (1899). Adapted by Iris Bishop & Gary Holder from an arrangement for duet concertina by Henry Stanley.
This most 'English' of compositions became a bit of a musical adventure for Gary and I, playing 'from the dots' and venturing into the classical repertoire for the first time! We just loved the challenge of trying to divide-up an entire Symphony Orchestra between the two of us...

Heather Minion
Bear Dance - Peat Fire Flame
Cafe Waltz composed by Eric Elsener
The Hopeful Farmer composed by Tim Laycock

Reuben Shaw
Reuben Shaw (1913-2005) was a bridge between the vintage and contemporary recordings on this page. The recordings below of Reuben playing Maccann Duet concertina with other players were provided for the Duet International CD set, and video clips of Reuben from Barry Callaghan's 1987 film about him may be seen at Concertina.com.
Reuben Shaw and Wilfred Pearce (English Concertina)
Practice sessions recorded 1956 at Greasley Church Hall
End Of A Perfect Day
Somewhere A Voice Is Calling
Lorely
Colonel Bogey
Selection Of Waltzes
Intermezzo (Cavaleria Rusticana)
The Lost Chord
Heanor (Hymn)
The Derwent Trio
Reuben Shaw with Wilfred Pearce and Herbert Hague (English Concertinas)
Recorded at Radio Derby
The New Colonial March
The Glow-worm

Donald Pullen
Donald Pullen was a Maccann Duet player active from earliest days of the International Concertina Assocation. Reuben Shaw's submissions for the Duet International CD set included two recordings by 'The Firth Brothers' - Donald Pullen with Wilfred Pearce and Dorothy Nichols playing English Concertinas - recorded at Leeds BBC Studio in 1967
Einie Kleine
Wellington March

Ralph Jordan
The late Ralph Jordan ('Ralphie' left us in January 2014) submitted the first five tracks below for the Duet International CD set. Ralph's website has a section titled 'The Attic Tapes' which was something he worked on before doing some more work on some of the tracks which were on his 'Eloise' CD.
Ralph plays 58 Key Wheatstone Maccann Duet Concertina, Guitar, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Harmonium and Fender Bass.
Bach Gavotte in G Minor recorded in a church in Sussex.
Langsammamazurkan composed by Benny Andersson (of Abba)
Roses For The Lady composed by the late Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer
Duet with John Dipper on 46 key English concertina
Voktjin composed by Wim Claeys
With Gareth Kiddier on piano
Hopscotch Schottische Ralph's homage to Alexander Prince
With Irene Shettle (Vocal)
The Moon Shines Bright (on soundcloud)
Comment from Irene: Seasonal. A rehearsal recording for a show which we were performing called “Listen and You Shall Hear” about the life and works of Lucy Broadwood, the Victorian/ Edwardian English folksong collector and researcher. The carol, The Moon Shines Bright, was collected from a family of travellers by the name of Goby, who were well known on Surrey/ Sussex border. (It’s a rehearsal recording and notable by the fact that over several years of singing it I had managed to change one or two of the words, which might disturb the purists, but hey that is the oral tradition! Or should that be aural?)
Duet with Irene Shettle (Maccann Duet)
The Eagle’s Whisper Waltz (on soundcloud)
Comment from Irene: A live recording, and not the best recording due to the rather basic recording device being used, and the distance of the audience member from us at the time. It is a Maccann duet duet, (quartet??) played on two 58 key instruments – the one played by Ralphie was a Wheatstone Aeola, and the other was a 6 sider concertina. I was playing melody throughout, and Ralphie was performing bass accompaniment and all the arabesques and pirouettes around the tune. I had been playing concertina for only about 6 months when the idea of me stepping in to play with Ralphie, which was actually a rather daunting prospect for me since I was replacing a very experienced Anglo player, but in the end it was rather exhilarating and fun! This was the tune which introduced the second half of the show, and is based on the tune Eagle’s Whisper which was collected by Lucy Broadwood from a young lady called Bridget Geary in Cappoquin, Co Waterford,Ireland in 1906. After playing it for several months and working at it, and then returning to the source notation it was clear that we had changed it a fair little bit. Ralphie was heard to say to the audience when this was being pointed out to them on one occasion “Yeah, it was rubbish” ... “We made it better” ... which got quite a huge laugh. We referred to this as The Eagle’s Whisper Waltz.
With Irene Shettle (Vocal). Comments by Irene
She’s Like the Swallow (on soundcloud)
A Canadian folksong that I had picked up from the Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs, and had been singing for at least 30 years without accompaniment before I met Ralph. One afternoon, while searching for songs to sing at a gig we had coming up I started singing this one ... after one verse he went and picked up his concertina and started accompanying me, matching the sentiment of every verse. We finished running through it – I turned to him and said "So you’ve heard it before?" "Nope never heard it in my life". This was probably the second run through. It’s fairly raw, but I think it gives some example of the variety of accompaniments he could come up with.
Faithful Emma (on soundcloud)
A song collected by the collector, archaeologist and painter and illustrator from the Arts and Crafts movement, Heywood Sumner, Collected from a churchman in Worthing. The name Faithful Emma is a misnomer as the young lady in the song is not faithful, nor is she named Emma!

Rob Neal
Rob is a very talented multi instrumentalist, playing piano, English and Duet concertinas, Cello and Guitar. He is probably best known for his Cello playing as a member of The Incredible String Band and The Valiant Band. Rob is very active in the Folk Scene and has started a regular once a month dance in Woodbridge Suffolk with a number of the musicians that play at the Harbour Inn at Southwold. He has suggested these recordings, where he plays a 57 Key Wheatstone Maccann.
Father Went To Yarmouth
The Harbour Lights Trio (Rob Neal, Alvar Smith and Derek Simpson)
Dwelling in Beulah Land
Proper English (Rob Neal, Ed Caines and Derek Simpson)
The Dolphin

Gilbert Carrère
Gilbert has a YouTube channel where you can find various recordings he has made. He plays a Wheatstone 56 button Maccann Duet made in 1929-30 (serial number 32337). He chose the following recordings to feature:
La prima e lo vènt
L'aucèu en gabiòla
Polkas italiennes

Colin Whyles
Colin is currently developing the website and sound archive for the International Concertina Association. He provided the comments on the recordings below, which were submitted for Duet International and has also provided sheet music for both items.
Sounds rather slow now, but the concertina is my big 81-button cottage Wheatstone Maccann. Of course, we have the software to speed it up now!...
Klezmango - composed by Colin Sheet Music PDF
This is a favourite. I always announce it as three times the value of the Minute Waltz as it is three minutes long.
Value Valse - composed by Colin Sheet Music PDF

Morgan O'Kennedy
Morgan O'Kennedy was born near Cape Town, South Africa in the 1890s. His father was an Irish immigrant who became a farmer in Malmesbury district near Cape Town. He played a Wheatstone 72 button Maccann Duet and was for many years a member of the Stellenbosch Boeremusiek Orchestra. Recordings kindly provided by Zak Van de Vyver.
A Perfect Day
Last Rose Of Summer
Lente Mars
Silver Threads Amongst The Gold
Somewhere A Voice Is Calling

Nico Langeveldt
South African Nico Langeveldt played a Wheatstone Maccann Duet which his father brought from a pawn shop for five shillings. He was the eldest of four brothers - all of them excellent musicians. Recordings kindly provided by Zak Van de Vyver.
North Together Traditional
Soup Meat Traditional
Tonight The Folk Will Go Harvesting Traditional
Shuffle Time composed by N Langeveldt
Theresa composed by T Dempsey

Custom Duet System

Thomas Restoin
Thomas (Tona on concertina.net) has collections of recordings on soundcloud and youtube. He plays two custom duets made by the Dipper family around 2010-2011. One is a baritone and the other a treble. They both have 55 buttons (31 at right and 24 at left). The layout is inspired from the layout of the chromatic button accordion with a chromatic scale on three rows for the right hand. The left hand is a bit more complicated, and not a "mirror" of the right hand, and has three rows. He has chosen to feature the following recordings.
Rêve Bohémian Indifférence (on soundcloud)
Matins D'Automne (on soundcloud) composed by Claude Thomain
Carolan's Concerto (on soundcloud)