Final answer:
At Ira's feast, one type of musician employed was a player of the barbiton, an ancient stringed instrument. Since the provided options do not include the barbiton, the closest answer is a sitar player, which is a stringed instrument as well.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the two kinds of musicians employed at Ira's feast were players of stringed instruments, more specifically, a male musician playing the barbiton, which is an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre. This information suggests that the correct answer is not directly listed among the options provided in the question. Nevertheless, by understanding the context, which is a feast where ancient musicians were present, and knowing that the barbiton is similar to a lyre—a stringed instrument—it can be deduced that the correct answer closely matches the option of a sitar player (a), since the sitar is also a stringed instrument. Although not the exact instrument mentioned in the reference, the sitar player is the closest choice given the options: a) Sitar player, b) Flute player, c) Drummer, d) Violinist.