Telynor

   
Telynor 1
   
   
   
Telynor 2
 
   
   
Off the Beaten Track
 
   
   
Sprig of Thyme
 
   
   

When was the last time you heard a dance melody from 14th-century Italy played next to a Bulgarian padushko? Or an old English ballad sung with the heart and soul of American blues? How about the sweet, ringing tones of a Celtic harp accompanied by the eerie drones of a hurdy-gurdy?


John Peekstok and Anna Clemenger started playing together in 1983. John was a rock drummer and keyboard player in Michigan before he moved to Seattle and took up the harp. When he met Anna, an accomplished recorder player, guitarist, and singer, they discovered shared interests that ranged from traditional folk music to the blues to medieval music to Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin and joined forces, choosing the Welsh word for "harper" as their band name.


John and Anna shared stage and studio with a remarkable collection of instruments, including the hurdy-gurdy, cittern, nyckelharpa, bodhrán, fiddle, guitar, recorder, and whistle, and sometimes the Celtic harp, mountain dulcimer, didjeridu, synthesizer, and electric bass. Anna's spirited vocals rise over this tapestry of sound with vigor and authority.


The duo's repertoire came primarily from the traditional folk music of the British Isles, France, and Appalachia, mixed with medieval and Renaissance music and newly composed music.

 

Telynor stopped performing regularly in 2003, but reunites occasionally for the odd gig.

Excerpts from reviews:

"This duo always create beautiful and interesting arrangements of traditional music, and this new CD is their best work yet...Telynor's palette of instruments is one of the most interesting on the traditional music scene, including citterns and mandolins, fiddles, hurdy-gurdies and nyckelharpas, guitars and recorders...this album makes me think of the original Pentangle. From me, that's quite a compliment." Steve Winick, Dirty Linen

"(Anna) is a sure-voiced singer with a straightforward but distinctive style. Her use of (the hurdy-gurdy) is really innovative in the tortuous, bluesy tones she coaxes out on her accompaniment of The Bad Girl ...they don't ever sound as though they are copying, or strongly influenced by, anybody else." Vic Smith, Folk Roots

Even their original works have that 'from the distant past' flavor...GOOD STUFF!" Keith Swingruber, The Celtic Chronicles

"This versatile folk duo never gets stuck in the same place twice...Anna's voice is maturing into lovely work...Highly enjoyable, well executed collection. Good liner notes and lyrics included." Chris Lunn, Victory Music Review