The Consell de Mallorca and the Teatre Principal de Palma present the complete recovery of the protocol music group of Mallorca.

The Joch de Ministrils is a musical formation inherited from a secular European tradition. Since ancient times, music has been at the service of institutions and has been present in many of the festive and solemn events of our society. Each period has had different types of grouping, varying both the number and the types of instruments used depending on the context and economic possibilities.

With the arrival of King Jaume in Mallorca, this musical tradition also arrives. In the medieval context, minstrels – also called minstrels – enlivened banquets and other entertainments of the court, and in addition, they gave solemnity to the different official civil, military and religious acts, such as ceremonies, processions, official receptions, solemn masses, among others. During the modern age, the development of the infrastructure of civil and ecclesiastical authority favored the emergence of stable groups of musicians, in the form of minstrel groups or music chapels, which was accompanied by a progressive professionalization.

In this new context we find the golden age of minstrels, between the 16th and 17th centuries, coinciding with the apogee of the absolutist courts and under the umbrella of the Counter-Reformation. The minstrels intervened in the main acts promoted by the chapter of the See and the Great and General Council, as public accompaniment to the magnificent juries, that is, the rulers of the City of the Island of Mallorca.

The rise of new aesthetic trends at the beginning of the 18th century, marked mainly by the influence of Italian music, began the decline of the formation. Over the years, the figure of the formation lost importance, largely due to the new fashion for the creation of music bands. Thus, in 1882, the Ministrils were officially extinct.

There were various attempts to revive them, but finally in 1889 they were definitively dissolved. Forty years later, in 1929, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the Conquest of Mallorca, a new revival was attempted, which due to the political situation of the time was not successful. In 1994, the Palma City Council tried again, in an attempt to rescue ancient traditions, using contemporary instruments, which did not come to fruition.

It was not until 2001 that the Consell Insular de Mallorca agreed to revive and create the Joch de Ministrils. A revival led by Josep Rotger with documentation and historical research work by Francesc Vallcaneras, musical supervision by musicologist Xavier Carbonell and costume design by Tolo Crespí.

In this way, the institution returns to the service of the government of the island of Mallorca with an informed criterion. Unfortunately, this recovery only lasted until 2012. In 2024, the Consell de Mallorca together with the Teatre Principal de Palma wanted to make a new attempt to bring the Joch de Ministrils back to its splendor, following the task and the relief in the work done, and with a vision of a stable grouping of protocol and early music to disseminate our musical heritage, dignifying and professionalizing one of the oldest musical formations in all of Mallorca.