Etienne Henri (or Nicolas) Méhul (June 24, 1763 - October 18, 1817) was a French composer. He was born at Givet in Ardennes. His father being too poor to give him a regular musical education, his first lessons came from a poor blind organist of Givet; yet such was his aptitude that, when ten years old, he was appointed organist of the convent of the Récollets. In 1775 a German musician and organist, Wilhelm Hauser, was engaged for the monastery of Lavaldieu, a few miles from Givet, and Méhul became his occasional pupil.
In 1778 he was taken to Paris by a military officer, and placed himself under Edelmann, a harpsichord player. His first attempts at instrumental composition in 1781 did not succeed, and he therefore turned his attention to sacred and dramatic music. Christoph Willibald Gluck gave him advice in his studies.
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