Charles Mouton was a famous French lutenist and lute

Lute

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....

 composer.

There is only little information known about him. He was born probably in Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

, studied probably with Denis Gaultier

Denis Gaultier

Denis Gaultier was a French lutenist and composer. He was a cousin of Ennemond Gaultier.-Life:...

 and early in his career, he worked at the court of the dukes of Savoy

House of Savoy

The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

 in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

. In the 1660s, he taught lute Paris nobles. He returned to Turin in 1676, then to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1678 and around 1680, he published two books of lute pieces (Pièces de luth sur différents modes), of which only one copy exists. According to the catalog of the music publisher Estienne Roger

Estienne Roger

Estienne Roger was a francophone printer and publisher working in the Netherlands.-Life:...

(Amsterdam, 1716), there were four books. There are also other pieces scattered in various manuscripts, together more than 120 pieces.