COMPOSERS: Jadin
LABELS: Auvidis
WORKS: Sonatas, Op. 3/1 & 2, Op. 6/2 & 3
PERFORMER: Patrick Cohen (fortepiano)
CATALOGUE NO: V 4777
Hyacinthe Jadin (1769-1802) was one of the leading Parisian composers of his day. In his works the writer of the CD’s booklet note finds ‘the seeds of a new music, passionate and feverish’, and we can only guess at what might have been, had he not died at the age of 33.
Cohen’s technique is impressive, but his understanding of 18th-century style is flawed – surprisingly so, in an age when scholarly research has brought a universal awareness of such matters. He seems reluctant to adopt a steady pulse, instead disturbing the music’s flow with ill-judged agogic accents and often exaggerated rubato. Yet, to be fair, this is one of his better discs. Others may find it more congenial than I do. Wadham Sutton