The difficulty of presenting music removed it from its historical context and time, especially music owing its existence to oral vs. written transmission, here inspires the Aquila Altera ensemble’s endeavors in relating these distinct traditions, in both musical and textual terms. The repertoire on this CD, entirely Italian, juxtaposes pieces drawn from 13th – 16th c. manuscripts or printed collections with pieces (and performance practices) stemming from oral traditions and the use of reconstructed musical instruments of the Italian tradition, in addition to the more common ones.