The music contained on this recording ranges from the earliest known - regrettably unflattering - mention of Danes in music in the 9th century to Danish songs from the 15th century. It includes 13th century Parisian polyphony found in a remarkable Danish source and Danish versions of songs from the international repertory and thus illustrates both a Danish contribution to European music and the musical contacts that Denmark enjoyed with the rest of Europe in the Middle Ages.
The selection of the title "The Sound of Medieval Flute" is not fortuitous and aims to intrigue those listeners who know that no medieval transverse flute finds have been reported so far. What kind of transverse flutes were played in medieval Europe and what they sounded like can only be intuited by piecing together a kaleidoscope of information preserved in the graphic arts, in literary and poetic works touching on the performance practice of medieval instrumental music , in folk music traditions using similar instruments and there is no hiding that anyway adding a certain measure of personal imagination to the mix.
In 1613 Robert ap Huw of Anglesey copied part of William Penllyn’s manuscript of harp tablature. This is the earliest surviving body of European harp music and contains Welsh bardic harp music from the 14th – 16th centuries. A combination of scholarship and imagination has enabled the reconstruction and interpretation of this unique music, played on historical harps.