The album contrasts adaptations for string quartet of music from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance with 20th-century compositions.

Arranging and selecting compositions from ten centuries of music was intended, according to David Harrington, the quartet's founder, "to find a way of relating vastly different pieces to one time, to find a place in time where the elements meet.

The Swedish song "Längdans efter Byfåns Mats" features a bagpipe,[2][3] and the traditional Swedish bridal march "Brudmarsch frå Östa" includes a nyckelharpa[1] (a string instrument related to the hurdy-gurdy).

Chinese virtuoso musician Wu Man plays two kinds of ruan (a plucked lute-like string instrument) on "Lachrymæ Antiquæ.

[1][5] Rick Anderson on Allmusic praises the album's "overriding mood...of sadness and devotion...Like most of Kronos' best work, this is dark, lovely, eerie stuff.