Hyacinthe Jadin (1776-1800) Quatuors à cordes Œuvre 1 String Quartets, Op. 1 Quatuor Franz Joseph Olivier Brault, Jacques-André Houle, violins Hélène Plouffe, viola; Marcel Saint-Cyr, cello ACD2 2610 • The Quatuor Franz Joseph invites listeners to discover the three string quartets, opus 1, by Hyacinthe Jadin, a French composer who is little known today.   Born in 1776 in Versailles to a musical family, he was on the brink of a promising career when he died of tuberculosis, in September of 1800 at the age of 24. • For his quartets, Jadin used the four-movement structure he had inherited from Haydn.   Stylistically, they anticipate the great contrapuntal developments of the 19th century.   Tinged with a pre-Romantic aesthetic, they are a French version of the Sturm und Drang movement which heralded the world of Schubert. • The Quatuor Franz Joseph was created in 2002 by four enthusiastic and leading early-music string players from Montreal.   These musicians seek to quench their thirst for the quartet repertoire of the Enlightenment using period instruments, while nourishing an interest for parallel repertoires. Hyacinthe Jadin (1776-1800) Quatuors à cordes Œuvre Ire String Quartets Op. 1 (éd. Paris, Magasin de musique des fêtes nationales, 1795 - dedicated to J. Haydn) IerQuatuor, en si bémol majeur Quartet in b flat major, Op. 1 No. 1   1. Largo - Allegro non troppo (sic)   2. Adagio   3. Menuet - Trio   4. Finale. Allegro IIeQuatuor, en la majeur Quartet in A major, Op. 1 No. 2   5. Allegro   6. Menuet - Trio   7. Pastoral Andante 8. Finale. Presto IIIeQuatuor, en fa mineur Quartet in F minor, Op. 1 No. 3   9. Allegro moderato 10. Menuet - [Trio] Majeur 11. Adagio 12. Polonaise ATMA Classique is distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading PO Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia Telephone +61 (0)3 9432 4149 ~ Facsimile +61 (0)3 9444 6879