Historical Mutes

The topic of practice mutes was previously discussed in this section during the lockdown. However, following a recent concert and recording of two magnificent 18th-century Spanish requiems—performed with muted trumpets—by the ensemble Los Elementos at the Royal Chapel of the Château de Versailles on January 28, a few words on 17th- and 18th-century trumpet mutes are necessary.

Marin Mersenne, in his Harmonie Universelle (1636), tells us that:

“This mute is used when one does not want the trumpet to be heard from where the enemies are, as happens during city sieges, and when one wants to withdraw.”

(Mersenne, Prop. XVII, 259)

His contemporary, Pierre Trichet, in his Traité des Instruments de Musique (written around 1640), provides a much more detailed and precise description, not without a touch of humor in his conclusion:

“Before I end this speech, it would be useful and most fitting for me to say something of the mute, which is nothing other than a piece of wood shaped by a turner and introduced into the bell of the trumpet so as to stop it so exactly and in such a way that it be weakened, muffled and reduced. So that this mute may be pushed easily into the bell, it has a stem which adheres to it, made in one piece, very narrow unlike the rest, however, but widening slightly towards the end. This note must be pierced and completely hollowed out from one end to the other, with very thin sides so that it can bend slightly and fit the bell; this hollowness is so vital that without it the trumpet would not sound at all, the air having no means of escape. Thus one recognises that the function of this mute is but to constrict the opening of the bell and to weaken and deaden the sound which, passing through a very narrow wooden channel, is less striking than if it were completely free. That is why the mute is used when there is a fear of being discovered by the enemy or when there is a desire to surprise him, as when one wishes to move and make a secret retreat, something which I must also do so as not to weary those who have had the courage to follow me thus far.”

(Trichet, art. 17, fol. 62)

Above all, the most significant use of the mute during the Baroque and Classical periods was for funeral processions. The Marquis de Sourches, in his memoirs, recounts the funeral of Marshal de Boufflers on August 29, 1711:

“The trumpets sounding muted, and the timpani covered in crepe, beating in a mournful manner.”

(Mémoires du Marquis de Sourches, Tome XII, page 179)

A deeply moving example of this practice is the Missa de difuntos (Mass for the Dead) by José de Torres (1670–1738), composed in 1725 for the funeral of the young Louis I of Spain (1707–1724), who reigned for only 150 days. This work will soon be available under the Château de Versailles Spectacles label.