ÉTIENNE-NICOLAS MÉHUL (1763-1817): Uthal.

Description: Prompted by the success of Ossian’s poetry during the First Empire, the Opéra-Comique commissioned from Méhul a short and gripping work inspired by James Macpherson’s Celtic reveries. The composer had the brilliant idea of conjuring up the mists of this Scottish fantasy world in his music by using the ‘grisaille’ sonority of an orchestra without violins. The Gothic coloration of wind instruments with divided violas, the melancholy poetry of the harp and solo horn that frequently emerge from the tutti, contrast with the choruses of warriors and the belligerent strains of Uthal and his opponent. French-English libretto. Karine Deshayes (mezzo), Yann Beuron (tenor), Jean-Sébastien Bou (baritone), Namur Chamber Choir, Les Talens Lyriques; Christophe Rousset.