Téka Ensemble
The Téka Ensemble was formed in budapest in 1976 playing authentic peasant music. Their repertoire emphasizes the traditional playing style and original feeling of hungarian village music.
They play string instruments (violin, viola, double-bass, cello) and other unique folk instruments (bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, hit-cello), providing an exciting picture of village music from all over the hungarian-speaking territories.
The band members regularly visit villages all over the region, where folk custom, dance and music can still be found in their original form. They play with peasant musicians at 'dance houses', weddings and other dance events, thus learning how to play the music in the authentic style. On these journeys they also collect original melodies which become part of their repertoire.
For more than thirty years now, Téka has been amongst the leaders of budapest's new wave of folk music. In 1977 they received the nationally recognized title of “young masters of folk art” and have gotten many other awards since then. Téka has been hosting regular 'dance houses' in budapest since 1977 – evenings of live folk music, dancing, and singing, where people come to learn or just to socialize; popular meeting places for hungarians and ethno-tourists alike.
The members of the Téka Ensemble are also active music teachers, dedicated to passing on the traditional hungarian music to younger generations.
Their concerts on world music stages across europe and beyond, delight audiences with the warmth of their performance and their ethnic playing style. Over the years they have worked continuously with and included professional folk dancers in their programs.
Twenty-four albums of their music released abroad (in the usa, germany, switzerland), along with the hungarian released lp-s and cd-s, comprise their impressive discography.
The members of the Téka Ensemble
Pál Havasréti
double bass, hurdy-gurdy, hit-cello, drum, voice
András Soós
fiddle
Beatrix Tárnoki
voice, lute
György Lányi
viola, bagpipe, lute
Máté Kalász
fiddle
Photos:
(Click to enlarge!)
Videos:
 |  |  |
| Music of Kalotaszeg 1. Hajnali | Music of Kalotaszeg | Music of Kalotaszeg 3. Csárdás és Szapora |
 |  | |
| Music of Kalotaszeg 4. Szapora ráadás | Élnéék, élnéék... |
A Téka Együttes honlapja:
http://tekaband.hu