From the late 14th- through the 17th century, the slender, gut-strung renaissance, or "Gothic harp," with its distinctive buzzing bray pins, was heard all over Europe. Tiny L-shaped crooked pegs known as bray pins held the strings into the soundbox and also lightly touched them, causing the strings to buzz as they were plucked. Bray harps are frequently depicted in period paintings, often played by musician angels. Research has shown that the Gothic bray harp was THE most common harp for several hundred years, until the development of the large multirow baroque harps--which makes it all the more striking that bray harps are almost never heard today! William Taylor has played a key role in bringing the unique sound of this ancient harp to modern audiences.

The recorders used in the ensemble are replica's of instruments used in late medieval times. The most important feature of these instruments is the cilindrical bore; a striking contrast with the now most common recorder type of the Baroque recorder, which has an inverted conical bore. As for the cilindrical types, the sound is very pure, almost transparant.

The lute is frequently paired with the harp in musical iconography from the 14^th and 15^th centuries. This lute is not like the larger renaissance instruments, which are played polyphonically. Rather, the medieval lutenist uses a plectrum to play a frequently decorated melodic line. The lute and the harp are cousins, both being plucked - stringed intstruments, yet each retains a distinctive identity amidst the ensemble's blend.

Instrumentary:

Temperament:

Quadrivium utilizes a modified Pythagorian tuning as described in multiple 15th century sources. A= 463Hz.